Fifth Year
by atrfla
Summary: Follow Alyssa "Aly" Salinger through her fifth year at Hogwarts as her life tumbles through friendships, romance, and (of course) saving the world. If you know me in real life, you should really read this- and even if you don't, you should read it anyway. Rated T for possible swearing/violence.
1. Chapter 1: Arriving at Hogwarts

I climbed out of the Hogwarts Express, my robes tangling around my ankles and my hair getting in my face. I didn't care. The cool, crisp air smelled of the beginning-of-the-year Hogwarts feast.

My best friend Brooklyn Vawdrey followed me, balancing two cages on her arms. "Take your useless cat, Aly," she ordered, "or I'll drop it."

I retrieved my fluffy black-and-white feline from Brooklyn's hands. "He's named Dauncey, as you know very well," I retorted, smiling. I'd gotten Dauncey over the summer at Diagon Alley's Magical Menagerie, after Headmaster Damien and his group of- followers? Worshippers? I didn't quite know what to call them- had killed my owl Peltie last year, and my other best friend Rossalene Chung had spent most of the train ride fawning over him.

Brooklyn switched the other cage, holding her huge black owl Maycott, to her right hand, pulling the hood of her custom-made Twilfitt & Tattings robe over her long, frizzy brown hair with her left. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Come on, let's go find a carriage."

"Wait- not without Ross," I protested, but just then, our other best friend popped out of the train, grinning.

"Sorry," she panted. "Someone dropped their stuff and I helped clean it up."

Brooklyn and I rolled our eyes at each other. Typical Rossalene. She was a true Hufflepuff: kind, sweet, and wholeheartedly innocent. Still, she'd proved herself a deadly fighter last year, when she'd taken out an entire group of Headmaster Damien's follower/worshippers with only a few assorted plants and her wand.

"Well, let's go now," Brooklyn said, moving up the hill away from us, "or else all the good carriages will be gone."

We sprinted up the hill, cages jangling, and arrived just before the first carriage started pulling away. I blanched at the thestrals but clambered into an empty-looking carriage near the end of the long, twisting line. I'd started seeing thestrals after last year's battle, and I wasn't _scared_ of them exactly, I just wasn't used to the large skeletal horses.

The door of the carriage slammed shut after Rossalene and Brooklyn climbed in, and we started to move. In the dim light of the flickering torch on the wall of the carriage, I could make out the shadowy forms of my two friends and...

"Bloody-" I caught myself before I could swear. "There's someone else in here!"

The person shifted uncomfortably. "It's only me. Polly."

"Oh, hi, Polly," Rossalene said cheerily. The two of us breathed sighs of relief. Polly Lider was a fellow Ravenclaw fifth-year, although she was so petite that you sometimes mistook her for a first year when you bumped into her in the halls. She was nice enough, but a bit of a know-it-all; Brooklyn had never quite trusted her after our second year at Hogwarts.

"Your brother's getting Sorted this year, isn't he?" I asked Polly.

"Yes." Polly could talk on and on if she wanted to, but her voice was a little airy, as if she wasn't fully paying attention.

"Cool." Except me, everyone in the carriage had a younger sibling- Brooklyn had Libby and Rossalene had Joshua, both third-year Gryffindors.

As my petty attempt at conversation died out, I turned to Rossalene, and we started to chat about Honeydukes's new line of longer-lasting sugar quills and when we thought the first Hogsmeade trip would be. It was a much more pleasant conversation.

When we reached the castle, Polly scrambled out first, then Brooklyn, Rossalene, and finally me. My best friends and I walked up the entrance stairs arm in arm, laughing and chatting, and we had just stepped inside the huge double doors when a water balloon smashed against the floor just to our right, soaking a poor second-year Hufflepuff boy and splashing a quartet of seventh-year Slytherin girls, who shrieked and made faces at the ceiling.

"_Peeves_," muttered Brooklyn darkly. "He needs to find some new tricks. Water balloons are so old-fashioned, he used them back in _Harry Potter_'s time."

"That was only fifty years ago!" Rossalene laughed.

By running and dodging, we managed to make it into the Great Hall without getting more than splashed a little. One of Brooklyn's Slytherin buddies- Alejandra Rice, a dancer who was more commonly called Leja- pulled her aside as we passed the green table, and Rossalene departed with a wave to sit with her friends at the Badger table. I took a deep breath and braved the Ravenclaw table solo.

Polly was sitting by herself near a gaggle of giggling fourth-year girls, and I took a seat across from her. Only when the girls had cleared did I see who I was sitting next to, and I nearly groaned aloud.

_Will._

Will Greene was my biggest student rival in Ravenclaw. He was perfectly nice, of course, and he'd fought on my side last year, but before that we'd always competed to secure the best grades. Third year, it had gotten nasty. I pushed the memories from my mind. Will was okay, but I'd still get the better O.W.L. grades this year.

Bad luck; Will turned, hearing something, and saw me. "Oh- hi, Aly," he said with a hint of a smile. The boy loved to aggravate me, but as that was usually only during class, he was being nice. "How was your summer?"

"Fine. Relaxing, after last year," I added with a laugh that was a little forced. "And yours?"

"It was nice." He seemed to be on the verge of launching into a story, but before he could, his eyes dropped to the blue badge upon my robes, showcasing one of my two newly acquired Hogwarts positions. "Prefect! Excellent." He pointed to his own badge. "I knew it would be you. Find me after dinner so we can show the first-years to Ravenclaw Tower."

I nodded, adding, "I'll do that, Will." I hoped he would take the hint, but Will plowed on. "I was surprised that they only had the Head Boy and Girl patrol the Hogwarts Express today. Do you think it was-"

I was saved from further talk by the new Headmaster, Professor Fourier, calling out, "Please settle down." I did just that, turning in my seat to face the dais. When I'd gotten the news that the über-intelligent Potions teacher- who had been Head of Ravenclaw House at the time- had been promoted to the position of Hogwarts Headmaster by the Wizengamot over the summer, I'd been super excited. Professor Fourier had been my favorite teacher. "Please sit so that we may commence the Sorting and the feast."

Slowly, the Great Hall quieted. The first years- _do they get smaller every year?_- marched in, huddled in clumps. One tiny boy was obviously Polly's brother, as they shared their minimal height and thick sandy hair. I also recognized the brown-haired twins that were, ironically, the little siblings of the Hufflepuff fifth-year twins, Kayla and Ana Strait- friends of Rossalene's.

Professor Longbottom, the grey-haired deputy headmaster, appeared on the dais. He carried a small stool and a ragged old hat. Setting the hat on the stool, he placed the stool on the floor. He then cleared his throat and stepped back.

"Sing," the Herbology teacher commanded simply.

And the hat sang.

**If you've been confused, I'm really sorry- there will definitely be prequels for Aly's second and fourth years at Hogwarts, as well as (possibly) her other years. There will be a lot of references to those but I don't think I'll start to write them until Fifth Year is over. Bear with me, and if you have any burning questions, I'm willing to PM slightly cryptic answers to everyone who asks.**

**Also, you might want to check out the stories I've co-written with my best friend Ravenroset. They're under an account called Ravenflower- an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Harry Potter crossover as well as a Ninjago fic. I'm Flower in that account. Ta!**

**~atrfla, or Flower**


	2. Chapter 2: The Sorting Hat's Song

**This is the Sorting Hat's song.**

_Some legends are told_

_Upon parchment, scrolls or books;_

_Mine is like none of these_

_Listen, you'll be hooked._

_Once upon a time,_

_There lived Hogwarts founders four,_

_And each their own House_

_They decided they should form._

_Bold Gryffindor, he only took_

_The ones whom bravery drove;_

_Smart Ravenclaw, she chose those for whom_

_Intelligence was a treasure trove._

_Sly Slytherin, for him the ones with_

_Purest blood were best;_

_And Hufflepuff, good Hufflepuff,_

_She simply took the rest._

_Now to this day these Houses stand, _

_As bold, good, sly and brave_

_As the day Gryffindor took me off his head_

_And Hogwarts itself was made._

_Today, in a moment, I'll sort you_

_Into one of Hogwarts's Houses fine,_

_You'll start your life as a witch or wizard,_

_You'll begin walking your timeline._

_As you can see, some have already started_

_Suffered through far more than you could believe;_

_And while you're safe from the horrors they went through_

_You're not safe... not entirely._

_Hogwarts will stand, as strong as a fortress,_

_While a danger attacks everything that can eat,_

_And while you'll be safe, the plants won't be-_

_So with that in mind, bon appétit._

**This chapter was very short, and I'm sorry- but the next chapter will be really long, I promise! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Feast and Afterwards

Professor Longbottom pulled a scroll from his robes, cleared his throat, and announced, "When I call your name, please come up and wear the hat. First up, Abba, Brendan!"

A little blond boy tripped up the steps and plopped himself onto the stool. Professor Longbottom carefully placed the Sorting Hat on his tiny head.

The hat opened its rip of a mouth, hesitated, and then yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The red-and-gold table cheered as Brendan Abba gave the hat back to Professor Longbottom and ran off to join the Lions. I followed him with my eyes and watched him sit next to Nate Panther, the old Gryffindor Keeper from third year. Nate clapped Brendan on the back, and I smiled fondly. I loved first-years.

"Allister, Katie!"

A stunningly pretty redhead- probably a Weasley descendant- climbed the steps and sat primly on the Sorting Hat's stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Again, the red table cheered as Katie Allister joined it, sitting by the two most popular girls in Gryffindor- Lea Henshawe, who was rather outgoing, and Lorie Braithnoch, who was rather shy. Lea welcomed her with a big smile, even though Lorie was prefect. I could see the badge glinting off of her robes.

_Atkinson, Maudie... Bean, Briana... Brett, Zachary... Bryant, Esther. _Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw. I cheered extra loudly for those last two, noting where Zachary Brett and Esther Bryant sat so that I could collect them after supper.

After that, I tried to pay attention, but my thoughts kept drifting to last year's disastrous ceremony, when Headmaster Damien had started his reign of terror. How glad I was that this year was turning out to be normal!

"Lider, Ned!"

My head snapped up. Polly's brother was clambering up the steps to be Sorted- had that much time passed already? Apparently so, for Ned Lider perched on the stool. His legs didn't reach the floor and they wriggled like two of the tubers in Snargaluff pods. I heard a few Hufflepuffs coo.

Ned closed his eyes as Professor Longbottom affixed the hat on his head. It fell over his eyes, and he pushed it up, waiting.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Polly looked disappointed but relieved as her brother joined Brendan Abba at the Gryffindor table. She came from a family that highly disapproved of Slytherins, although some- like Brooklyn- were pretty cool.

The Sorting finished- Kayla and Ana's little brother and sister were Sorted into Hufflepuff along with their big sisters. Professor- er, _Headmaster_- Fourier stood up.

"Thank you, Professor Longbottom," he said cordially. "Now, I know you're all hungry, but remember- don't stuff yourself, and fifth-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, keep away from the spinach pie!" He winked as laughter arose from the fifth-year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, myself included. We remembered the dangers of spinach pie from our third-year Potions class. "Now, in the words of the Sorting Hat... bon appétit!"

Food flashed into existence on the tables in front of us. The first thing I reached for, being vegetarian, was the spinach pie... of course. It was easily the most delicious vegetarian entrée on the table.

"He-ey, Captain," said a familiar voice. I looked up, nearly letting the potatoes I was serving myself tumble onto the table.

It was Lanie Kelling, the Ravenclaw Seeker from my third-year Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and she sat down next to me. The old Keeper Shawnee Haven slid into a seat across from her and beside Polly. I grinned at them. "Lanie! Shawnee! You heard?"

"We all knew it would be you," Shawnee laughed. She was a short, stout black Scot with a head of wild, coarse dark brown curls. "You're the best one on the team."

They were talking about my second newly earned Hogwarts position of importance- Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. "Thanks!"

"When are tryouts?" asked Lanie as she plopped a chunk of shepherd's pie on her plate.

I shrugged. "We just got here. I need to get my schedule and coordinate with the other Captains." I was one of 3 new fifth-year Captains (the only Captain who wasn't a fifth year being Austin Wood, seventh-year Slytherin, grandson of Oliver Wood and brother of fifth-year Tommy Wood, one of the former Gryffindor Beaters). "Anyway, you two are on the team, no question."

"No, no, no," Lanie protested, waving off my statement. "If there's someone out there who's better than us, hey, they deserve to be discovered."

"Anyway, I look forward to saving a bunch of Quaffles from certain doom," Shawnee said, reaching for the Yorkshire pudding. We managed to keep straight faces for a beat before bursting out laughing.

In third year, when Shawnee had first tried out for Keeper, she had gone up against a burly beast of a sixth-year who had stared at her though a curtain of shaggy, greasy blonde hair and grunted, "I look forward to saving a bunch of Quaffles from certain doom."

He had lost to Shawnee, of course; after that, he'd cut his hair and lost some of the unnecessary muscle, and when we lost a Chaser to the hospital wing later that season, Zach had been more than willing to step in for her.

"In that case..." Lanie put a cocky smirk on her face and winked. "Ain't nobody gon' catch that Snitch faster than me, you hear?"

"I wish I could do a Kitty," I commented, "but she never said anything like that to me."

Kitty, our previous Captain, had been a Chaser since our first year (her fourth). She had been really nice and a wonderful Chaser. Reuben had been another story. A cocky American of British descent with a thick Southern accent, he'd been shocked to have been beaten out for the position of Seeker in his fifth year by a second-year girl. He had softened over the next summer and tried out for Chaser when the three of us were in our third years and he in his sixth.

"I miss them," Lanie said simply.

I sighed. Two of the Chaser trio had left after their horrible seventh years to continue their lives; one lay buried in the gardens along with everyone else who hadn't survived Headmaster Damien's terrible year and the battle that had ended it. "Yeah. Everyone does."

When dinner (and dessert- yum) were finished, Professor- _Headmaster! _I really needed to get in the habit of calling him that- Fourier stood up once again from the ornate Headmaster's chair and walked to the podium.

"Now that you are all full, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to new and returning students alike," he began. "Welcome to Hogwarts. This is a school, yes, a school of magic and learning, but also one of fun. I guarantee that ninety-nine percent of you will enjoy the best seven years of your lives here. If you are the other one percent, I pity you.

"So. Now that my welcome has finished, I would like to go over some very important rules that have been in use since Hogwarts's founding."

Shawnee and I exchanged knowing glances. _This ought to be interesting._

But, of course, it proved incredibly boring. "Please stay away from the Forbidden Forest and the Whomping Willow if you are not in the mood for multiple injuries or a gruesome death. Also, our caretaker Argus Filch has asked me to remind you that all items from the shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes have been banned."

I searched the Hufflepuff table for the other pair of fifth-year twins, Johnny Gonzalez and Matt Garza. In our first year, they'd found out that they had been separated and adopted at birth by two different families, and they were inseparable from then on. They were also the school's resident pranksters. Sure enough, I found them at the end of the table, trying to stifle laughs behind their hands. I smiled fondly, like I had with Brendan. I liked the twins (both pairs). Johnny was cool, but Matt was my favorite. Beneath his silly jokester attitude, he was really just a big softie.

"Finally, if you wish to try out for your House Quidditch team- excepting first years, of course- please give your name to your Head of House and they will notify you of the tryout date.

"Ah, I see some heads nodding and yawns out there, and who am I to keep you from your soft, comfortable beds? Go, so that you may be well-rested and alert for your classes tomorrow! Good night, students, and sweet repose."

Instantly the Hall was abuzz with activity. I ran up and down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables, shouting "First years to me, please! Ravenclaw first years to me!" and amassing a large group of first-years behind me.

I met up with Will, who had also gathered a considerable amount of eleven-year-olds, at the end of the table. I took the lead, the line of first-years trailing behind me as I made my way through the doors and up some of Hogwarts's one hundred and forty-two staircases, heading for Ravenclaw Tower. Just as I was about to ascend the narrow, twisting spiral stairs that led to the Ravenclaw common room, I felt someone tug at my sleeve. Leaving the rest of the first years to go up with Will, I looked at the little girl, recognizing her as Dellie Thresher from the sorting. "Yes, Dellie?"

"You're Alyssa Salinger, right?"

I nodded. "What can I do for you?"

Her big brown eyes widened. "My big sister says you're a Prefect and a Quidditch Captain, _plus _you saved the whole school last year." With a start, I realized that her sister must have been Millie Thresher, one of the most popular Ravenclaws in the house- and one of my fellow fifth-years. "And she says you're top of the class, too. How do you do it?"

I smiled down at her. "Study, and manage your time wisely," I advised. Above me, I heard Will knock on the door to the commons. As everyone quieted, I hurried Dellie up the stairs so she could witness the riddle.

The melodic voice of the door's eagle knocker asked, "How can you create something from nothing?"

I held back a laugh. I'd gotten this very question in my third year, and it had taken me twenty minutes to figure it out. But Will had obviously never had this question, as the confused look on his face plainly said. Normally, I would've enjoyed watching him puzzle over it, but some of the first-years were practically asleep on their feet, and I wasn't about to make them wait.

"There is never nothing, so there always must be something," I called to the door. Sure enough, it said, "Nicely phrased" and then swung open. A few of the first-years gasped in awe.

"I never would've said that!" I heard a first-year whisper to his friend as they filed in through the door. Will kept it open for me, and I stepped inside, nearly tripping over the throng of first-years who had stopped in their tracks before I could separate myself from them and look at what they were seeing.

It must be admitted that the Ravenclaw common room was a sight to behold, even late at night. Starlight filtered in through the windows that arched high above our heads. Couches surrounded a huge table that sparkled in the lowlight, as it was made of glass panes and inlaid with crystals. Smaller tables and adjoining armchairs were scattered throughout the large, circular room, and a dying fire crackled in a fire pit in the center. Each window had, in addition to a fantastic mountain view, an attached window seat; the windows themselves were separated by big alcoves in the walls, each with an arched entrance and intricately carved walls covered in bookshelves. A bust of a woman inhabited the alcove directly across from the door- a serene-looking woman wearing a diadem, into which was carved Ravenclaw's most excellent motto: _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure._ The domed ceiling was dark blue, matching the carpet, but painted with stars; the white marble walls were covered with silky banners of blue and bronze where they met the dark blue ceiling. In the daytime, I remembered from years past, the abundance of white marble in the room had made it glow with a beautiful, natural-feeling white light.

"Whoa," breathed in a first-year, summing it all up.

"Wait until it's daytime," I suggested. "It's a great place to relax during free periods or after classes. Also to do homework."

"Right now, though-" Will pointed to a door that was flanked by bookcases behind the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw- "it's time for bed. Once we go through that door, there will be a hallway that splits into two. Witches go to the right; wizards, to the left."

I opened the door and entered the hallway, on the walls of which hung portraits of famous Ravenclaws. I herded the first-year girls- all eleven of them, a big group- to the right, while Will departed with a wave and the nine first-year boys to the left. After climbing a quick flight of steps, we came out into a hallway that had one door facing us and then turned to march back past the stairs and over the Ravenclaw commons, doors lining the left side.

"First years get the first room," I explained, opening the door opposite us. "Go on in. All of your things are already there."

The little first-years trooped in past me, with Dellie Thresher at the end stopping to give me a shy little wave. When they were all inside, I closed the door gently and went down the hallway past the stairs and three more doors.

My six fellow Ravenclaw fifth-year girls looked up when I entered. Polly went right back to unpacking her bags. Helen MacDougal and Millie Thresher both waved and said hi, but it was Shawnee, Lanie and my other Ravenclaw best friend Lynne Turnip who really gave me the best welcome.

Lynne rushed over and gave me a big hug. "Quidditch Captain, Prefect- what will we _do _with you, Aly? Congrats!"

I hugged her back. "Thanks, Lynne. How was your summer?"

"Oh, great!" she enthused. "I went to visit Grand-mère in France." Lynne's mother was French, and Lynne took as much pride in being half- French as she did in being Muggle-born. She had actually gone to Beauxbatons for her first year and transferred to Hogwarts when her family had moved to England. It was Lynne's French connections that had saved so many lives last year when, before fighting Headmaster Damien for the last time, we evacuated everyone third-year or younger to Beauxbatons. (Of course some stayed behind, but we couldn't help that.)

Across the room, Helen waved to get our attention. "Aly? I know you just got in, but the rest of us are pretty tired. Do you think you can wait to unpack until tomorrow so we can all get some sleep?"

"Sure!" I said. "As long as I can get changed first. It'll only take a minute."

"Go ahead," Helen allowed, and she and Millie withdrew into their spaces, as did Polly. I ducked into my curtained area, drew the drapes around me, and changed into my pajamas. When I had finished, I told the rest, and Lanie whispered a spell to extinguish the torches on the walls. I climbed into bed and pulled the warm covers over me, delighted to be back at Hogwarts- _normal_ Hogwarts- at last.

**Like I promised... this was a pretty long chapter. I'm always taking suggestions, critique, or just a "good job"... the lot! So what are you waiting for? REVIEW, please!**


	4. Chapter 4: First Day of School

The next morning, I was up and dressed before any of my friends. The only reason I was able to walk down to breakfast with Lynne, Lanie and Shawnee was that I had to (quietly) unpack.

At breakfast, both Lanie and I helped ourselves to large bowls of porridge; Lynne, who was _never_ hungry at breakfast-time and instead ate large lunches and dinners, nibbled on a fried tomato; Shawnee piled her plate with sausages and toast and set about making two breakfast sandwiches.

Schedules were handed out, and my day was booked full- Charms, double Herbology, lunch, double Potions and finally Transfiguration. I had a reputation to uphold, as a Prefect, of being on time to classes, so I left breakfast early, meaning to get to the Charms classroom and the newly crowned Ravenclaw Head of House Professor Brocklehurst's cheery domain. However, as soon as I left the Great Hal, I bumped into Austin Wood.

He steadied me. "Whoa there!" Then he saw who it was, and a grin spread over his face. "Hey, Aly. I actually needed to talk to you- must've been fate."

"I can't be late to Charms," I told him.

"No, of course not," he agreed, shaking his head. "It's just that the Captains' meeting is tonight. After classes. In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."

"Before or after dinner?"

Austin smiled. "Before. Nick and Kayla already know, so..."

"I'll be there," I promised, heading off to Charms.

And I was, after an exhausting afternoon with the new Potions teacher, Professor Burton, and the tall, sly, French Professor Descoteaux of Transfiguration. I slouched into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, straightened up briefly to bid good-bye to the short, potbellied Professor Gedding, and collapsed into a chair off to the side, bone tired.

Kayla Strait, new Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, entered after me and we had a lovely rendezvous. We were discussing Kayla's twin sister Ana, a cheerful girl who was fascinated with Muggles, when the door opened once again.

"Ah! Kayla, Aly!" Austin said pompously as he entered, as if he hadn't expected to find us here. "And... if you don't know him already, may I introduce-"

"Nick Justice of Gryffindor," said Nick, striding into the room. "New Captain. Hey, Kayla. Hey, Aly."

We both knew him already, of course- the tall, cocky, handsome Gryffindor boy with the ever-tousled caramel hair and laughing blue eyes.

"What were you talking about before we came in?" inquired Austin.

Kayla shrugged. "Ana's hair," she said bluntly. Over the summer, Ana and Kayla had gone to America to visit their aunt, and Ana had returned one night with half of her hair shaved down to a light fuzz of brown. They had then decided that the best thing to do was dye it, so Ana had come back to Hogwarts with the shaved side of her head colored pink with purple swirls, and the tips of what hair was still long colored yellow, blue and green. Not many people could have pulled it off, but Ana did, with a stylish confidence that accompanied her in everything she did.

"But we're done now," I added.

"Perfect," Austin said, sitting with us. "When were you thinking of holding your tryouts, everyone?"

"I was thinking the first Saturday of October," Nick replied before either of us girls could say anything. "I think that's the first?"

"I was thinking that too," Kayla said quickly after him, "but I could hold my tryouts on the day after- Sunday the second."

"I want mine done before September ends," I put in. "Maybe Austin and I could do our tryouts the weekend before- me on the twenty-fourth and him on the twenty-fifth. Then you guys could do yours on the first and the second. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," Kayla said with a smile.

Nick shrugged.

Austin pounded the table with a fist. "Then it's settled!" he boomed, standing. "Good luck to all of you."

"Good luck," we echoed as he strode out, followed by Kayla. This left me and Nick standing alone in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Nick turned to look at me, and there was a short awkward silence where we just regarded each other before he said, "Quidditch Captain, Prefect, _and_ school heroine, huh?"

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"Congrats," he offered. "How do you _manage _it all?"

I saw a playful glint in his eyes, and so responded playfully, "By winning the Quidditch Cup, and after that, the House Cup. Oh, and getting a bunch of O.W.L.s."

He laughed. "What, do you want to be Minister of Magic or something?"

I shrugged. "Old Kingsley Shacklebolt is doing a pretty good job of it, himself."

"Yeah, but the _Daily Prophet _says he's going to retire in ten years," Nick started to say, but I cut him off with a laugh.

"You believe the _Daily Prophet_?"

Nick raised his hands in fake surrender. "My mum does... and anyway, he said _himself_ that he's going to retire in ten years, Aly," he pointed out. "Imagine that- youngest Minister of Magic ever! Twenty-five-year-old Aly Salinger!"

I pushed him, playfully. "Are you plotting against the Ministry, Nick?"

He gasped in mock horror, putting on an exaggerated accent just to make his words even funnier. "Aly Salinger, I _can't_ believe _you_ would _say_ such a _thing_!" Then he stood up, walked to the door and walked out, but poked his head back in to say one last thing in his normal voice. "Oh, and by the way, _you're _not winning the Quidditch or House Cups. _I _am."

Then he was gone, and I stood up and walked to dinner in a considerably better mood, chortling to myself.

**It's a short chapter, but I hope it'll hold you off until I can get the next one written.**

**(By the way, a big thank-you to Ravenroset, GriffinGirl, and the girl who Lanie is based off of. You guys are the best for reviewing and reading! XD)**


	5. Chapter 5: Day 2 and Tryouts

**I didn't want to have two boring chapters in a row, so... this one's two chapters mashed into one, and as a result, it's ****actually pretty long. Enjoy!**

The next day, I started off lessons with an incredibly boring double History of Magic class in which I really _did _try to pay attention to Professor Binns' lecture on Pierre Bonaccord, a nineteenth-century advocator for trolls' rights, and how he had offended the whole Wizarding community of Liechtenstein- who hated trolls, especially a group in the local mountains- and how that had led to the first meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards and...

I bewitched my quill so that it summarized the lesson and simply read _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _for the seventh time under the table.

The next class, double Defense Against the Dark Arts, was where things started to get interesting.

Professor Gedding, a squat man who was typically very jolly, spent the first twenty minutes of class drilling into us Ravenclaws and our fellows, the Hufflepuffs, the importance of our O.W.L.s.

"Students," he said impatiently when he had to rap the desk in front of Niamh Trevett- a girl with short, curly dark hair and thick black glasses who had fallen asleep during class- with his pointer. "These examinations- besides the N.E.W.T.s, there is nothing more important during your time here at Hogwarts! What you pail and fass now-" when Professor Gedding was agitated, he tended to mix up sounds and butcher words- "will decide your career choices and eventually how your life goes!"

Maria "Mari" Bird, the female Hufflepuff prefect and a former Hufflepuff Seeker, raised her hand. When Professor Gedding waved his pointer in her direction, she said, "Sir- Professor Gedding? I'm terribly sorry about Niamh. Peeves was terrorizing the Hufflepuff common room last night and he didn't stop until very late."

When I looked at the Hufflepuffs more closely, I noticed that their appearances certainly backed up Mari's story- especially Alexandra "Alex" Zobrist and Quinn "Ella" Nguyen, two sweet choir girls who were best friends and whose heads were drooping.

Professor Gedding must have seen them too, for he produced a whistle from one of the many pockets of his overly large trench coat and blew on it shrilly- succeeding in quickly awakening all of the sleepy Hufflepuffs. "Now," he said firmly, "now that you are all awake, please take out your textbooks and turn to page 394. We will be revising werewolves today. Who can tell me the visual differences, _without _peeking at page 396, between a common wolf and a werewolf?" He pointed the sharpened end of his pointer at a short Hufflepuff girl in the back. "I _saw_ that, Miss Trout! I said _without peeking_! Miss Kelling, can you tell us?"

After that was lunch, and Care of Magical Creature with the Gryffindors. As Professor Maduthy- a tall, plump woman whose hat was always crooked- showed us a knarl and set us to the task of identifying knarls among groups of hedgehogs, Nick and I made faces at each other from across the green where Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were separated into groups. We had to stop when Melissa Webb, a friend of Niamh's and Mari's, loudly asked if Nick had swallowed a knarl quill by accident. However, it was fun while it lasted, and I went to my next class with a smile on my face.

The next class, for all of the Ravenclaw girls except me, was Divination; in fact, every fifth-year Ravenclaw took it except for myself, Will, and a monotonous but kind boy named Eric Montgomery who had dated Brooklyn in our third year for a month. The three of us chose to have Study of Ancient Runes as our second choice class, which (in my opinion) was not only easier but also much more fun.

The teacher, Professor Ross-Campbell, was in a horrible temper when we arrived. She was pacing at the front of her spacious classroom, muttering under her breath as we students filed in. When the bell rang, she turned to us and said (rather bluntly):

"Come up front and take a copy of _Ancient Runes Made Easy _from my desk. We will be reviewing numerical runes today."

As I did what I was told, I smiled a little at the actions of Professor Ross-Campbell. She was usually very blunt and sharp, making her tone today pretty normal, but able to keep her temper. Some students described her as "the second Minerva McGonagall", a title which Professor-Ross Campbell alternated between hating with a passion and taking immense pride in.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" I asked, rather innocently, when I had made it to her desk and was hefting the topmost book off of the stack and into my arms.

As I stepped aside to allow my fellow students to access their books, Professor Ross-Campbell sighed, seeming relatively frustrated. "Nothing, Miss Salinger. I'm only a little... _irked_ that our Headmaster has ordered a week of review in all subjects for the fifth and seventh years. We have _so _much to cover, and _very _little time!" She took a deep breath and started obsessively straightening up her already perfectly-organized desk. "But it's naught of your concern. Please return to your seat."

I did so, a soft, knowing smile upon my face. Professor Ross-Campbell loved her schedule, and she positively _loathed_ when anything on it was messed up.

When I got back to my seat, I turned to Brooklyn, who had dropped out of Divination after her very first lesson two years ago. We sat next to each other and were Runes partners. "Numerical runes are so _easy_," I complained halfheartedly.

"Says you," she grumbled, flipping the pages of her book. "I can't remember for the life of me what the rune for _five _is-"

"Quintaped," I said promptly. "It's that great five-legged spider-looking thing, remember? Here." I shoved my own book, open to pages 7 and 8, at her. The pages showed everything from the Demiguise rune- meaning 0, stemming from the fact that the Demiguise had the ability to turn invisible- to the Hydra rune- meaning 9, the number of heads a typical Hydra had. I pointed to what looked like an oval with five legs at the very top of page 8 that very much resembled a five-legged spider. "That."

Brooklyn shuddered- her immense fear of spiders was well-known. She then checked that I wasn't lying; when I proved right, she pushed my book back at me and muttered, "Show-off."

"At least you'll never forget _nine_," I reminded her teasingly. We exchanged grins. The Hydra rune had been the first rune we'd ever learned- from a sixth-year Ravenclaw in the Great Hall when we were first years- and our knowledge of that rune had helped us survive our second year.

After Ancient Runes, most of the fifth-years had a free period. I, however, did not. Although Muggle Studies was known throughout the school as a "soft option", I took it anyway. As a pureblood, it was the one Hogwarts subject I had known absolutely nothing about when I had arrived on September the first of 2040.

The second I entered the classroom, I knew it was a bad choice to take the class again- even if I had rather enjoyed it for the past two years. Clusters of boys were grouped around the desks, talking loudly. In fact, I was one of a grand total of _four_ girls in the room- myself, Ana Strait, Rossalene, and Lorie Braithnoch. I found myself seated next to Rossalene and behind Lorie, who was sitting next to Ana.

Professor O'Cain, the fifth girl and the reason that there were so many boys taking Muggle Studies, entered. She bestowed a lovely smile upon us and called, "Please sit down." Professor O'Cain was the loveliest woman in possibly all of Britain and Scotland combined. She was also one of the smartest, but the boys who flocked around her wherever she went cared only about the red hair that fell in soft waves to her waist, or the soulful blue eyes framed in lush black eyelashes that peered currently out at us from behind oval-shaped spectacles.

"I see we have my lone knot of girls back here," she said in a lilting, laughing voice. "I expect you all to behave as well as my girls are now."

I sat up straighter in my chair and tucked a frizzy light brown curl behind my ear.

"Now, put your wands away," Professor O'Cain instructed, and the boys did so rapturously. "Today we are going to learn about Muggle technology. Please take out your copies of _Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles _by Wilhelm Wigworthy and turn to page one hundred and twelve. Lorie, dear, will you please read the first paragraph of Chapter Six, _Muggle Communication_?"

Slowly but surely, the month passed by. We finished review in all of our classes, much to Professor Ross-Campbell's relief. We had two quizzes- one in Potions, the other in Transfiguration- both of which I passed with flying colors. One day halfway through September, one of the nifflers we were supposed to be digging for gold with during Care of Magical Creatures escaped. It ran around, dodging all of our attempts to capture it, and eventually found the pile of earrings, pocket-watches and other shiny objects on a small table off to the side. I managed to save my earrings from the pile, but it was a complete disaster for most of the class's valuables. It took Helen a week to fix the dent in her pocket-watch.

Finally, the twenty-fourth of September arrived. I woke early, hurried down to the nearly-empty Great Hall to fix myself a quick breakfast of marmalade on toast, and ate it on my way to the Quidditch pitch.

Not twenty minutes later, groups of Ravenclaws had gathered to try out for the Quidditch team. I counted twenty-five, which was a huge improvement from my third year. Only thirteen people had tried out for the team that year.

I organized the people into clusters of five and ordered each group to fly around the pitch. The first group's flying was disorganized and sloppy. The second group- made up entirely of giggling third-year girls- was better, but not by much. The third group had two rather good fliers- surprisingly, they were Lynne (who I didn't think had ever mounted a broomstick before) and Polly (who went faster than everyone else and almost flew into the goalpost, but righted herself at the last minute). The fourth group was okay. The fifth and final group- made up of Lanie, Shawnee, Helen, Millie, and Will- were excellent fliers. In a _V _formation with Lanie at the head, they zipped quickly around the pitch- _twice_- before expertly landing and dismounting in front of me.

I blew my whistle. "All right! We're going to hold the Chaser tryouts first. If you don't want to try out for Chaser, please go sit in the stands."

It was rather difficult to do so, as I noticed a moment later. The stands were extremely crowded, every row packed with Hufflepuffs, Slytherins and Gryffindors- including both pairs of twins, Brooklyn, Rossalene, and (my heart skipped a beat against my will) Nick. When he noticed that I'd spotted him, I could've sworn he winked at me.

I stopped myself from swearing out loud from the embarrassment and turned to watch the first possible Chaser- a third-year girl from the second group who fumbled the Quaffle when I tossed it to her and promptly crashed her broom as a result.

Chaser tryouts went pretty much like that, but by the end, I had three decent Chasers- Millie, Helen and Lynne; the only three who hadn't dropped/fumbled the Quaffle, crashed their brooms, or talked during other people's tryouts.

Shawnee returned as Keeper after an outstanding tryout, as did Lanie to the position of Seeker. Then it was time for the tryout I'd been dreading all day- the other Beater's.

Will was going up against a shy, bookish sixth-year girl named Melody von Zeidler from the fourth group and a short, skinny, redheaded boy from the first group.

I let the twelve-year-old go first. He flew better solo than he had with his group, but he was still pretty terrible. Although, he wasn't a bad shot. I had released one Bludger and watched as he successfully batted it towards the stuffed balls I launched into the air, hitting nine out of ten. Still, when he was gloating over hitting the last one, the Bludger zoomed toward him and knocked him clear off of his broom. I had to catch him on mine and escort him to the ground.

Melody was next. She was an okay flier, and her aim wasn't bad, but she didn't have the build for a true Beater. Unless you were a great flier and had excellent aim, if you didn't have a Beater's build, you just couldn't be one. If I hadn't had perfect aim and the flying skills to match, even my height couldn't have saved me from my slim frame. I wouldn't have become a Beater at the age of twelve.

Will went last. Not only did he have the heighty, stocky build of an ideal Beater, he was also a really good flier and had awesome aim. He hit all ten of the stuffed balls, all while flying at breakneck speed next to the Bludger. I had no choice but to declare him my second Beater, no matter how little I liked it.

I was a little scared of getting teased for having a team of solely fifth-years. No. Not teased. _Harassed._ But, as I discovered on October 1, it turned out that I didn't have the only fifth-year team. Nick's team- Chasers Lea, Lorie and Conor (Mathieson- the Gryffindor male prefect); Beaters Melissa and Tommy (Wood- Austin's little brother); Keeper Nate; and, of course, Seeker/Captain Nick- was one too.

The first match was scheduled for the second weekend of November, but as it was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, I could train my team for two extra weeks before _our _first match- against Hufflepuff.

But before even the first Quidditch match, disaster struck.

**Yay! Cliffhanger! **

**By the way, you guys can thank the girl who Lanie is based off of for this chapter. She's been begging me for Quidditch tryouts, and I wasn't about to make her or the rest of you guys wait.**

**Finally, you can't forget to vote on my poll! So far, only one person has voted. Aly, Brooklyn, Nick and Lanie are leading with one vote each as the Favorite Characters!**

**R&R!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Plant Plague

It was October the 28th, three days before Halloween. I had just finished a double Herbology period in which Professor Longbottom looked distraught while we wrestled Fanged Geraniums. I lingered behind, pretending to fix a pot that the Fanged Geranium I had been working with had smashed. After fixing the cup with a simple _Reparo _once my comrades were trickling out, I approached him.

"Professor?" I ventured cautiously, nearly tiptoeing up to the table on which he was halfheartedly tying up a Fanged Geranium. "Er- Professor Longbottom?"

He jumped, and all at once the too-feisty Fanged Geranium shed the twine that Professor Longbottom had been attempting to tie it up with and lunged forward, nipping my arm. I jerked back, but the plant hadn't done more than add another small cut to the ones up and down my arms (thank you, Fanged Geraniums).

"Aly!" Professor Longbottom said in a surprised tone. He was the only teacher to call students by their first names, and that along with his kindly nature made him the school confidant. Even though he was head of Gryffindor House, students from all of the Houses flocked to spill their problems onto his stooped shoulders and receive excellent advice. He just made everyone feel very _comfortable_, as opposed to sly, untrustworthy Professor Descoteaux; nervous Professor Gedding; and any of the other teachers (although ever-cheerful Professor Brocklehurst was a close second). "I didn't see you there. Can I help you with something?"

"Is something wrong, Professor?" I queried.

"My Mandrakes are sick," he explained quickly as he turned back to the Fanged Geranium and wrestled its mouth shut. "It's nothing that you have to worry about, Aly. Thank you for your concern, though."

"Sick?" I echoed. "What kind of sick?"

"They don't screech and wail like they should," he told me, giving in to my everlasting stubbornness and nosiness. "And one seems to be sleeping every time I pull it up. My entire second-year class now thinks I'm a fool for making them wear earmuffs to handle silent Mandrakes."

_And while you'll be safe, the plants won't be. _Unwillingly, the Sorting Hat's words echoed through my head, and I shuddered.

"I can help, if you like," I offered, pushing the words that rang in my ears from my mind. "I'll look it up in the library- quiet and comatose Mandrakes? I'll get on it as soon as I can."

"You're a godsend, Aly," he said gratefully. "I'd do it myself if I didn't have Mandrakes to look after. Thank you."

"I'll even see if I can get some of my friends on it, too," I promised.

He nodded. "Good, good. The more the better."

"Also, you might want to use the reef knot to secure that twine," I pointed out, gesturing to the Fanged Geranium whose mouth was successfully wrapped shut but not tied. "It's much better than the Ashley's bend knot, which is what you're using."

"An outstanding idea!" Professor Longbottom agreed, tying the two twine ends together with the reef knot. "But as much as I would like to keep you as a helper for my next class- the first-years this year are rowdy beyond belief- you have a class to get to, I presume, and you should get those scratches looked at as well."

I looked down at my arms. "Of course. Bye, Professor Longbottom!" Then I tore out of the greenhouse and sprinted for the hospital wing, determined to acquire a salve to heal the many tiny nicks up my forearms before Charms.

That night, after I finished my foot-long Potions essay on the use of moonstones in potion-making and practiced my Vanishing Charm until I had it down pat, Lynne and I walked out to the library. On our way, just as we were passing Gryffindor Tower, we ran into Lyndsay Winters.

Lyndsay was a nice Gryffindor girl who enjoyed only two things: Herbology and Quidditch. I'd watched her Beater tryout and it was my opinion that Lyndsay was much better than either Melissa or Tommy. Still, it was Nick's choice, and if he wanted to put together a weaker team- well, it only helped my team's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup.

When we told Lyndsay- who had fancied a walk- what we were doing, she pushed back the wide cloth headband she was wearing (she always wore one, and today's was red striped with gold) and grinned. "Ah'd love to help," she exclaimed in her thick Scottish accent. "The Mandrakes, ye say? They were fine when ah checked 'em last week… ah wonder what 'appened."

In the library, I spotted Brooklyn's long, wavy mane of dark brown hair hunched over a book, half-hidden behind a bookshelf. When we snuck over to sit next to her after obtaining a large stack of Herbology books, I saw that Leja was working with her too. _The more the better._

There were exclaimations of surprise as Brooklyn leapt up and hugged Lynne, and Leja grinned and waved to Lyndsay. Brooklyn and Lynne were talking a mile a minute, catching up on a summer-and-a-month's worth of goings-on.

After I explained what we were here to do, Leja shrugged and said, "I'll help. I'm tired of Potions, and moonstones are _so_ boring anyway, especially when Professor _Bleh_-ton teaches about them. I wish we had Professor Fourier back."

After I reprimanded her for calling Professor Burton "Professor _Bleh_-ton", I talked to Brooklyn, who consented to helping as well. We dropped the stacks of books we'd found in the Herbology section on the table and started looking through them. I myself speed-read through _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_, by Phyllida Spore; _Goshawk's Guide to Herbology _by Miranda Goshawk; and _Plants with Minds of Their Own_ by Samantha MacGillivray before Brooklyn triumphantly held up _History of Herbology _by Henry MacHaffie and read in a proud voice:

"The Plant Plague. Plants who contract this illness suffer sluggishness, lethargy, and unwillingness to do things that they would normally do. Plants will also eventually slip into a sleeplike coma. The Plant Plague has been known to spread to magical creatures, but not to any organisms that have never come in contact with magic, inanimate objects, or humans of any kind. No cure has ever been discovered. The Plant Plague is believed to be a dead disease, as the last outbreak occurred in Scotland in 1491- _see Chapter Nineteen: Outbreaks_."

"Sounds like ye've found it," Lyndsay praised her. "Should ah tell Professor Longbottom, Aly, or will ye do it?"

"I just had Herbology today with the Slytherins," I told her, gesturing to Leja and Brooklyn. "So… that means that you and the Hufflepuffs have it when?"

"Tomorrow," Lyndsay confirmed.

"You can tell him, then," I decided.

She applauded a little. "Ah'll do that!"

And with that, we disbanded to get back to our common rooms before the fifth-years' nine-o'-clock curfew. Against my will, as I trudged back to Ravenclaw Tower with Lynne, the lines from the Sorting Hat's song kept echoing in my head.

_Hogwarts will stand, as strong as a fortress,_

_While a danger attacks everything that can eat,_

_And while you'll be safe, the plants won't be-_

_So with that in mind, bon appétit._

**I may or may not be posting for a while, my Internet's been rather spotty lately. **

**Also, I made up ****_Plants with Minds of Their Own_**** by Samantha MacGillivray and ****_History of Herbology _****by Henry MacHaffie. Those two books don't exist.**

**Shout-out to the girl who Lyndsay is based off of. If you're reading this, I need more headband ideas! :)**

**And finally, VOTE ON THE POLL! Please! I'm trying to figure out which characters to include more, and it's up to you guys!**

**~atrfla, or Flower (see profile)**


	7. Chapter 7: Gryffindor versus Slytherin

Professor Longbottom was pleased to know that we had discovered to know that we had discovered the illness that his Mandrakes had contracted. He was maybe not so pleased when we told him that there was no known cure, or when he found out that the Plant Plague had spread to his Fanged Geraniums. I would've felt bad, but my arms still stung horribly even after three long soaks in a tub of Murtlap essence.

Halloween was a Monday, and I was pulled out of Potions to help decorate the Great Hall. This gave me a chance to find out who the rest of the Prefects were- one found out very little about this sort of thing when they had mountains of homework every night. On the other hand, Peeves-that-bloody-poltergeist kept wreaking havoc as we carved pumpkins that had strategically been placed up and down the Hall. It was a rather difficult job, for while the carving was easy- we just pointed our wands at the pumpkins and waved them in the shape we wanted carved out- Peeves kept smashing our completed jack-o'-lanterns, flying in front of us and disrupting our spells, and stealing our wands. This went on until Grace Liu, the Slytherin female Prefect and a Slytherin Chaser as well as one of Brooklyn's worst-enemies-turned-friends, put him in his place with a well-aimed Bubble-Head Charm. Only, instead of encasing his _head_ in a thick bubble, it surrounded the poltergeist's entire _body_.

Peeves shrieked and pounded on the inside of the bubble as it floated above, unable to escape. We all doubled over with laughter and taunted Peeves until Professor Turner, the Astronomy teacher who was overseeing the decorations, reminded us that we weren't here to tease the troublesome ghost.

Eli Lupin- the oldest son of Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley-Lupin, and the Slytherin male prefect- nodded to Professor Turner, causing her to smile, then clapped Grace on the back (he was closest). As Professor Turner turned to give advice to Mari on how to carve a particularly tall pumpkin, Eli turned his head into a jack-o'-lantern. His skin became dull orange and bumpy, his bright white hair (thanks to his Veela blood) shrank back into his skull, his nose became so flat and squished that it was hardly there at all, his eyes turned black- just the pupils, thank Rowena, but it was creepy enough- and his teeth elongated and sharpened at the tips.

Eli had some very odd blood. Descended from a part-Veela, a Metamorphmagus, a Weasley and a werewolf (and that was only his grandparents), he had been born with what seemed to be a permanently very red face and white hair that nearly glowed in the dark. Then, last year, he had come into his Metamorphmagus powers. I'll say one thing for Eli- his timing was absolutely horrible. Headmaster Damien found it very hard to ignore Eli's hair turning bright turquoise during his opening speech and consequently controlled the poor boy, using him to spy on other students- although, halfway through the year, we figured out what he was making Eli do and managed to hide Eli in the Room of Requirement so that he wouldn't be forced to do our tyrannical Headmaster's bidding. He'd been instrumental in his former master's downfall, and now he had returned to his normal personality instead of the scared boy he'd been last year- a pretty decent guy, only with a habit of going out of his way to help Matt and Johnny in their pranks.

While Eli screwed up his face and turned his skin, eyes, teeth, nose and hair back to normal, I carved a pumpkin with the face he had been wearing. As I stepped back, pretty proud of my work, the Hufflepuff male prefect- Steven Dickens, an all-around goody-goody- nudged my arm. "Look," he said, pointing his wand at the bubble. Instantly, it was buffeted around as if it was a ball of yarn and two giant cats were buffeting it around.

Laughing, I did the same, even though Professor Turner had noticed and was storming over, her blond hair falling out of her carefully pinned updo. Decorating sure was a lot of fun.

Thankfully, I got off scot-free and was allowed to attend the Halloween feast. That night, I stuffed myself full of baked potato between Lynne and Lanie, the former enjoying her thinly sliced beef and the latter eating two fairly large helpings of chicken-and-ham pie. The whole school was enjoying seeing Peeves still stuck in his bubble, and more than one student had slyly pointed their wands at it and muttered an incantation, so that now the bubble was glowing and turning different colors, shedding light of pink, orange, golden and purple onto the students below. Although I did see Johnny and Matt pointing at the bubble and muttering behind their hands- so it was possible that they were either planning a prank concerning it or plotting a way to free the poltergeist.

October died in an explosion of cold winds and slush, and November arrived in a blaze of glory, capping the mountains and rooftops in snow. I had to break up more than one snowball-fight-gone-wrong that first weekend, and ended up participating in an innocent snowball fight myself. In which my team won. Just kidding, we lost horribly to the Gryffindors, but it was forgotten in the excitement of the first Quidditch game.

The day of the first match- Saturday the 12th of November- dawned bright and sunny, the perfect day for a match. It was even quite warm and although I didn't have to, I woke up early so I could get a good breakfast and hopefully a decent seat.

I was nearly finished with my muffin when the doors of the Great Hall burst open. In strode Nick Justice, his team behind him. The Great Hall fell silent immediately as they strode to the red table and sat down in a line with Nick at the center. As Nick pulled a plate of bacon and eggs toward him, the Great Hall burst back into chatter. I stuffed the last of my muffin into my mouth, chewing as I swung my trouser-clad legs over the bench and fastened my cloak. I headed for the doors, thinking, _I can get a great seat if I leave now and can get to the pitch without any-_

"Aly! Hey- _Aly!_"

-_interruptions_, I finished my thought with a sigh. I turned to find out who had delayed my leaving the Great Hall.

It was Nick. He ran up to me and grinned, rather sheepishly. Running a hand through his already-tousled hair, he asked, "You're coming to the match, right?"

I nodded, thinking about how he was just making his hair more ridiculous-looking every time he messed it up. "In fact, I was just going to score a seat."

He bobbed his head, obviously nervous- _about the match_, I told myself. "Yeah. I- I better go. Have fun."

He started to turn around and leave, but I reached out and said, "Nick." My fingers brushed his wrist, and he froze.

"Good luck," I told him softly before he could say anything.

He recovered and flashed me a trademark cocky grin. "Thanks."

And then I left. All the way down to the pitch, I assured myself that people reached out and touched his arm all the time. He was a Quidditch star, a Seeker and a Captain. He probably had girls falling over themselves to get a look at him, let alone grab onto his wrist. He just wasn't used to such softness.

_Or maybe he isn't used to _you, said a voice in my head.

"Shut up," I said to myself as I hurried down a flight of stairs and burst out the doors into the outdoors.

True to my word, I scored a great seat- right in the first row, next to the pitch. I was right next to the commentator's box, so I would definitely be able to hear the commentary.

For the commentary was always most amusing.

Sure enough, the day's commentator was none other than Lyndsay. _This ought to be fun_, I thought as I waved Rossalene over from where she stood confused higher up in the stands.

"And Gryffindor's team is arrivin'," she announced when the stands were full. "It's one of two all fifth-year teams this year, aye, the other bein' Ravenclaw." Her accent seemed to get more prominent when a whole stadium full of people was listening to her. "And here they come! Led by Justice, Seeker! Then th' Chasers, Braithnoch! Henshawe! and Mathieson! Followed by the Keeper, Panther! Bringin' up the rear are th' Beaters- Webb! An' Wood!

"Comin' from the other side of the pitch is th' Slytherin team!" She pronounced Slytherin _Slatherin_, causing a few confused murmurs to mix in with the cheers. "First, the Captain an' Keeper- Wood! Then the Chasers, Liu! Cheverell! an' Vawdrey!" Rossalene and I cheered extra-loudly for Brooklyn as she walked onto the green, a breeze picking up her long, wavy dark hair and playing with the locks. "Followed by th' Beaters, Trotter! and Greene! An' last is the Seeker, Trotter!"

The Trotter brothers (fifth-year Brandon, who was nearly as arrogant as Nick, and seventh-year Seamus, who was even more conceited) practically strutted out, preceded by Will's little sister Zola. I remembered her Sorting last year, especially how shocked Will had been to have a little sister in Slytherin. But Zola was sweet, nearly as nice as Brooklyn.

Seamus went to stand by Brooklyn, but she shied away and glowered at him. Seamus _always_ tried to annoy her, even at home- they lived on the same street- and Brooklyn hated him for it.

"Captains, shake hands!" ordered the coach, Sir Sutherland. He was a short, skinny man in his forties who had been a star Gryffindor Seeker back in his day.

Nick held out his hand. Austin grasped it pompously- everything he _did _he did pompously, so I don't know why I expected him to shake hands normally- and shook it firmly.

"Mount your brooms," Sir Sutherland instructed. "On my whistle. One, two..."

_Tweet!_

Fourteen people took to the air. Nate and Austin started guarding their ends, respectively. Brooklyn, Grace, Lea, Lorie and Conor started flying around. The last Chaser, Anise Cheverell of Slytherin, took possession of the Quaffle and started dodging Bludgers from Melissa and Tommy. The Slytherin Beaters, Zola and Seamus, flanked Anise, providing a personal guard and whacking any Bludger that came close with their clubs. Brandon shot up into the sky above the pitch, a smudge of green and silver on the blue, while Nick flew back and forth right in front of me, scanning the stadium for the Snitch.

"An' it's Cheverell, Cheverell with the Quaffle," announced Lyndsay, adjusting her cloth headband (dark brown pattered with small green-and-blue anchors today). "Sh' was the star Seeker two years ago, yet this year she's a Chaser, ah wonder what 'appened."

Anise, small and lithe with a head of short blonde corkscrew curls, easily dodged a Bludger from Tommy before Zola could hit it and threw the Quaffle with all of her might. It soared toward the goals and Nate.

"SH' SHOOTS!" roared Lyndsay. "SHE SCORES! Tha's ten-naught to Slytherin, and Lorie Braithnoch with the Quaffle- ah, she's hit by a Bludger from Zola Greene, she's got bloody guid- sorry, Professor-" she apologized to Professor O'Cain, who was standing behind her, monitoring the commentary- "she's got guid aim for a second-year, and Slytherin back in possession with Brooklyn Vawdrey dodging a Bludger-"

"GO, BROOKLYN!" Rossalene and I screamed as one.

"She's gotten past Henshawe and sh' _shoots_- nice save by the Gryffindor Keeper, Mathieson in possession and- Brandon Trotter cutting in front of him, is tha' even _allowed_? Mathieson's dropped the Quaffle and Liu's picked it up, but- ah think Trotter's seen the Snitch!"

So had Nick. In front of me, he urged his broomstick to go faster as he raced down to the other end of the pitch.

"-and th' Snitch is gone, bad luck, boys... Liu pulls off a smooth lil' reverse pass to- nevermind, ah believe it was intended to Vawdrey but the Quaffle's been intercepted by Conor Mathieson of Gryffindor, did ye know that he's a prefect as well and younger brother to Hufflepuff Chaser Jamie Mathieson? Anyone?"

"I did," Rossalene whispered in my ear, "Jamie's quite fond of him, apparently she's very protective and refuses to let any girl come near him in case he gets his heart broken or something..."

"Don't I know it," I muttered under my breath. I'd fancied Conor Mathieson in first year, and I'd accidentally let slip to Jamie before I realized they were siblings. She'd made my life completely miserable until I had to let my crush go. She still didn't like me very much, but at least we weren't enemies.

"Ah did," Lyndsay resumed, "but no matter as Mathieson _shoots_- 'e _scores! _Ten-all's the score and Vawdrey's in possession..."

The game went on like that until the score was sixty-thirty Slytherin. Brooklyn had scored two goals, and each time, Rossalene and I had leapt to our feet, cheering.

It was just as Grace Liu scored another goal, making the score seventy-thirty Slytherin, that I saw it. The Snitch, golden and glittering, was hovering not two feet from my face. I could've reached out and grabbed it if I wanted to. I wasn't the only one who'd seen it, either- Nick was hurtling toward me, arm outstretched; he did a barrel roll to dodge a Bludger from Seamus and was joined by Brandon. Nick then did something remarkable- carefully, he put both feet _on his broom _and stood, wobbling, his arms outstretched to keep his balance. Then he leaped.

Nick's long fingers closed around the Snitch, and he caught his broom at the same time, but he was hanging from it and couldn't control it. I ducked as he went by; people scattered, screaming, as broom and Seeker crashed into the stands right above me.

Slowly, I stood up as the Gryffindor Seeker emerged triumphant and grinning from the wreckage of the stands, the tiny golden ball clutched victoriously in his fist. He caught me looking, smirked, and winked at me. "Did you like my trick, Aly?" he asked as Lyndsay boomed, "_One hundred and eighty to seventy, Gryffindor wins!_" next to me.

The only thing I could think of to say was, "You don't have to show off for me, Nick." So I did.

He winked again with one of those blue eyes. "Oh, but I do." And then he was sauntering off to his team, a proud grin on his face.

Lyndsay leaned down after announcing the stats and said in her normal voice, "Guid game, eh? Ah love the trick Justice pulled at the end- e's a bloody guid Seeker, en't 'e?"

Instead of staring after Nick like he probably wanted me to do, I said to Lyndsay, "Yeah. Great game." Then I started back up to the castle. When he glanced behind him to check if I was still there, I was gone.

**I'm going to be mass posting tonight! At least three chapters... maybe four (the Christmas Ball, the biggest one, will be Chapter Ten. It oughta be REALLY fun). I can't wait!**


	8. Chapter 8: Hogsmeade

**Mass Posting Part II.**

"Careful!" Professor Maduthy reprimanded the girl next to me. "If you hold the bowtruckle _too_ tightly, it will scratch you!"

Then she headed over to another table to tend to (and possibly scold) an unfortunate Conor, who had suffered the same fate.

The girl next to me adjusted her grip on the bowtruckle, causing it to thrash more. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong," she said helplessly to me.

"Don't hold its arms like that," I advised, holding out a small clump of squiggling brown woodlice. "And here, feed it this. It'll probably like you if you give it food, most of them do."

She took the woodlice and flashed a grateful smile. "Thanks."

Her name was Juliet Livesey, and she was one of Lea and Lorie's crowd- Tommy's girlfriend, too. No one knew her blood status because she'd been adopted by Muggles at a very young age, meaning that the stuck-up purebloods- what few of them were left at Hogwarts after Headmaster Damien- didn't have any reason to criticize her because she may well have been a pureblood. Kind of like Johnny and Matt, but they'd discovered their half-blood heritage last year.

"You're welcome," I said. "Can you hold it still? I want to finish my sketch."

"Do you think I'll get extra points if I include the woodlice in my drawing?" she wondered.

Before I could respond with a _No, not really_, Lyndsay's distinct accent said loudly, "Professor Maduthy! Professor Maduthy?"

I looked over at her- she was on the other side of Juliet, partnering with Lynne. Today's headband was light green patterned with patchwork brown and dark green plaid squares, holding back her light brown waves. She was waving her hand back and forth, and in her other hand she clutched a limp bowtruckle.

Professor Maduthy hurried over from lecturing Conor. "What's the matter, dear?"

"Ah think ah killed it," Lyndsay explained. She showed the teacher the flappy bowtruckle.

Professor Maduthy examined it. "No, it isn't dead. It seems to be asleep… bowtruckles don't normally sleep at this time of day, how peculiar…"

"Lyndsay," I said slowly.

She looked up at me. "What is it, Aly? Do ye have the same problem?"

"The library," I whispered. "The plants…"

She caught on immediately, and her face turned white. "The plague is spreadin'," she voiced softly.

Ruining the dramatic moment, Juliet gasped. "A plague? Oh no! Do you think it'll kill us all?"

"It's never spread to humans," I assured her.

"Does'nae mean it won't," Lyndsay muttered darkly.

Thankfully, she said it quietly enough so no one but Juliet and I could hear it, and if Juliet heard it, she didn't let us know. But Juliet still worried the whole way up to the castle after the lesson.

"Do you think the unicorns will get the plague?" she was asking Lea anxiously when I split away from the group. Before dinner, I wanted to drop my bag off and grab a book from my room.

I was reading that book (_Achievements in Charming_) at dinner when Brooklyn, accompanied by Leja and Lynne, ran up and tore my attention away from the book.

"Aly, Aly!" Lynne said excitedly.

"What, what?" I replied, marking my page and closing _Achievements in Charming._

"Tomorrow," declared Brooklyn passionately, "has been announced an impromptu Hogsmeade day."

"_Excellent_," I said, grinning and standing up.

"Lanie, Shawnee, Lyndsay and Ross are already coming with us," Leja informed me as we exited the Great Hall among droves of people going back to their common rooms.

"We assumed you'd want to come too," Lynne added.

"Of course," I told them. "Bring on the shopping!"

The next day was a Saturday, but I woke up early and dressed in warm clothes- it was chilly out. Grabbing my money pouch, I went down to breakfast. I was soon joined by Lynne, Lanie and Shawnee, and we shoveled down toast with butter and jam before meeting up with Rossalene, Brooklyn, Leja and Lyndsay outside the Great Hall.

It wasn't snowing outside, but the fluffy white powder decorated the rooftops of the Hogsmeade shops and the ground, too.

"Where to first?" Rossalene asked cheerily, pulling her faux-fur-hemmed cloak tighter around her shoulders.

"My cauldron's starting to melt, during Potions," Shawnee volunteered. "Maybe Ceridwen's?"

"But cauldron shopping's so _boring_," complained Leja. "What about Gladrags Wizardwear? I saw some _adorable_ magenta dress robes in the window."

"And I need a new quill," Lynne chipped in.

"What abou' this?" proposed Lyndsay. "We all split up an' meet up at the Three Broomsticks."

"I'll go with Lynne," I said.

"I'll go with Shawnee!" Lanie volunteered eagerly.

Brooklyn and Lyndsay went with Leja, and Rossalene tagged along with Lanie and Shawnee. Which left Lynne and I to go to Scrivenshaft's, something I was _not _complaining about.

As soon as we entered the shop, Lynne pointed at a display of multicolored quills and practically squealed, drawing the temporary attention of what little shoppers browsed the store (Scrivenshaft's was _not _the most popular place). She rushed over and picked up a quill of pale gold, examining it from every angle and testing the tip on her finger.

I perused the shop, picking up some early Christmas presents- a bottle of rainbow ink for Rossalene, some pretty cream-colored stationary patterned with black swirls for Lynne, and a sharp tawny eagle-feather quill for Shawnee. After exchanging fifteen Galleons and two Sickles for the gifts, I collected Lynne- who had purchased the gold quill- and we traveled a few doors down to the Three Broomsticks, where we found Leja, Lyndsay and Brooklyn at a corner table. We ordered another pair of butterbeers while Leja showed off her new pink dress robes, bright magenta silk patterned with small blue-and-purple flowers.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Leja nearly shrieked, smoothing one flowy pink sleeve on the table and pointing to the embroidered flowers. "Look at the detail on those petals! I'll be the envy of the Christmas ball!"

"The Christmas ball?" I inquired curiously. "What Christmas ball?"

Brooklyn rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Aly, do you _ever _pay attention in class or at dinner? Or do you just read?"

"I pay attention more than you think," I defended myself indignantly, "but apparently I wasn't when this was announced."

"You were _reading_," snickered Leja. Then she raised her voice. "Remember last year's Christmas ball? Headmaster Fourier decided that Headmaster Damien did one thing right- providing a night full of fun at Christmastime for all of the kids staying at Hogwarts."

"Last year's Christmas ball wasn't _fun_," I protested, "not with Headmaster Damien watching our every move."

"This one will be fun," Leja said loyally.

"He announced it at dinner last night," Lanie chimed in, slipping into the last empty chair at the table. "But I'm going home for Christmas… Mum and Dad are _super _protective, you know, and they barely let me come back to Hogwarts this year."

"I'm going with her," Shawnee continued, pulling up a chair. Rossalene did the same. "Which is why I'm not the least bit worried about _dress robes_."

"I have some blue ones at home, back in Rowena's Borough," I mused. "I'm sure Mum and Father will let me stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and send the robes to me if I write about the ball. They're quite supportive of this sort of thing, since they met at a Ravenclaw-only dance."

"Oh, I just bought some new ones," Brooklyn shrugged. "Green satin with gold trim. They're lovely, really." She gestured to a small bag hanging off of the side of her seat. "Plus, my old ones were wearing through. Anyway, this ought to be fun. I wonder if a boy will ask me to the ball?"

"Ah've already been asked," Lyndsay announced.

"_What?_" cried seven voices, one of them mine.

Lyndsay, obviously quite proud, smiled. "Ah knew ye'd all be surprised."

"In a good way, of course," Lynne assured her hastily.

"By _who?_" Rossalene exclaimed, voicing the question that was on everyone's minds.

Lyndsay adjusted her glittery white headband, looking pretty satisfied with herself. Then, with one word, she blew all of our minds. "Eli."

At the same time, we all blurted out different responses to this shocking event.

Lanie: "I knew it!"

Shawnee: "You're joking!"

Leja: "_What?!_"

Rossalene: "The Metamorphmagus?"

Brooklyn: "Eli _Lupin?_"

Lynne: "I can't believe it! Congrats!"

Me: "You two _would_ make a cute couple." (I made a point to be supportive of all relationship decisions my friends made, because I knew how much _I _hated it when _they _weren't supportive of _me_, and I figured they felt the same way.)

Lyndsay nodded at me. "Thank ye, ah think so too."

"But first," Lanie said, diverting the topic away from Eli Lupin and the Christmas ball, "we have a Quidditch match to prepare for. Seven days to go, right, Aly?"

"Yeah," I said to her, and then I added, "I need to go to Spintwitches for a jar of handle polish. I ran out over the summer, and Quality Quidditch Supplies was out when I went to Diagon Alley before school."

"I could use a new pair of Keeper's gloves," Shawnee chimed in.

"So, we'll meet the two of you at Honeydukes?" suggested Brooklyn, downing the last gulp of her butterbeer, which was mostly foam.

"Sounds good," I agreed, sipping the final drops of my drink and standing. "See you there."

At Spintwitches, the sporting goods shop just down the lane, Shawnee tried on pair after pair of Keeper's gloves- made from every material from dragon hide to steel mesh to plain old leather- while I picked up a medium-sized jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, my favorite brand. On my way to the counter, I also grabbed a Mini Broomstick Servicing Kit for Brooklyn, which contained a small bottle of the same handle polish; a vial of powder that, when mixed with water, provided a dry grease for your hands that kept them from slipping off the broom (something Brooklyn's tended to do often); and a little booklet entitled _The Care and Keeping Of Your Broom_.

I was third in line when someone nudged my shoulder. "Handle Polish, eh? I suppose that the Ravenclaw Captain can't have anything less than a spotless broom. And oh, what's that? A Mini Broomstick Servicing Kit? Buying Christmas presents already? I knew you were an overachiever, Aly, but we're still more than a month away!"

I turned around and looked into the grinning face of Nick Justice.

"I'm not an overachiever!" was the first coherent thing that came to mind. _What are you doing with him? _was the second.

Nathan Price was standing next to Nick. He was my first boyfriend, from third year. He was devoted, to say the least. Even clingy. And I couldn't stand that. I mean, Nathan was nice and sweet and a good athlete (even if it was all Muggle sports- Nathan couldn't stand Quidditch, Nick had probably needed to physically drag him into the store), but he wasn't right for me, and he resented me for breaking up with him. And I knew why Nick and Nathan were standing together- they had been best friends since our second year.

"She kind of is," Nathan muttered.

My temper flared, but I kept my anger down and my attention on Nick. "What are you doing here, Justice?"

"Ooh, we're on last-name terms now?" he smirked. "Well, _Salinger_, you're not the only one who needs Quidditch supplies." He held up a pair of Omnioculars. "I'm buying these because of _you_, Aly. I'm expecting a good match next weekend, and plus, they're _much_ cheaper now than they will be at next year's Quidditch World Cup." He directed his attentions to Nathan then, and I was able to turn away, freed from those eyes- but I could still hear their last words of conversation as I stepped up to the counter and handed over ten Galleons, fifteen Sickles and a Knut for the Mini Broomstick Servicing Kit and the handle polish. "Can you believe it's in Scotland this year? I can't wait… I've already got tickets!" (To which Nathan replied, "Just be quiet, Nick, you know I hate Quidditch.")

Shawnee and I left soon after, Shawnee's new hardened-leather gloves tucked safely inside her bag. As we approached Tomes and Scrolls, the ancient bookstore that was one of the oldest shops in Hogsmeade, I kept glancing wistfully at the window display (a pile of history books, worn with age). As Leja and Brooklyn had made fun of in the Three Broomsticks, reading was one of my favorite hobbies. All I had to do was skim the pages- faster than anyone in the fifth year and possibly the sixth as well- and I practically absorbed the information.

"Oh, go in," Shawnee sighed, diverting my attention. "I know you want to, plus I have to buy Lanie a Christmas gift. And they're not expecting us at Honeydukes for a while yet- we fairly breezed through at Spintwitches, I didn't expect it to be so empty, not with the match a mere week away…"

With no further persuasion needed, I ducked inside the nearly-empty bookshop and buried my nose in a huge Herbology book entitled _Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean, _by Hadrian Whittle. As my eyes scanned a paragraph about the magical properties of seaweed, I tried to focus on the book, _only _the book, but my mind kept drifting back to Nick.

_Damn it_, I reminded myself, _no thinking about him. You're only doing so because he was with Nathan, and he called you an overachiever, neither of which you like._

I didn't buy the Herbology book- surely I could find it in the Herbology section of Madam Pince's immaculate library- but Shawnee bought a newly published book called _Best Quidditch Players of the Twentieth Century _for Lanie, and that was good enough for a trip to the bookstore.

We met the other six girls in Honeydukes, where Rossalene was hovering near the sample tray of white chocolate fudge and Lanie and Brooklyn were exclaiming over a new exhibit of Extra-Large Peppermint Toads, Lanie's favorite. Lyndsay, Leja and Lynne were clustered in line behind a very ugly witch who looked suspiciously like a hag, chatting animatedly, each clutching boxes of nougat, containers of sugar quills, and bags of toffees and exploding bonbons. It took all of my self-control not to leap towards the shelves of chocolate and gather it all into my arms. Books and chocolate, yep, that's me- Aly Salinger, bibliophile and chocoholic.

On our way back up to the castle, our conversations were divided. Lyndsay, Brooklyn, Rossalene and Leja- the second-to-last of whom was still snacking on one last white chocolate fudge sample- had no Quidditch match in a week that they had to prepare for, so they talked loudly and excitedly about the Christmas ball ("I still can't believe Eli asked you to the ball!" "Ah know, and those dress robes ye have are just beautiful!") while Shawnee, Lynne, Lanie and I worried over the Quidditch match ("We're playing Hufflepuff, so it ought to be a pushover." "Don't say that, Lanie, they nearly beat us the last time we played them- remember?" "Plus, Kayla's put a good team together. We ought to try out some new formations this week at practice.") And we did, practicing nearly every night up until Friday. I woke up Saturday morning feeling both very pleased with my team and very anxious for the match ahead.

**I can't wait for the reviews on this. Don't keep me waiting!**


	9. Chapter 9: Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff

**Mass Posting Part III.**

I forced myself to eat a decent breakfast on the day of the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match instead of what I really craved, a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate. Juicy grapes, buttery toast and highly peppered eggs were shoved mechanically into my mouth. At least I wasn't as nervous as one of the Hufflepuff Chasers- Nicole Trout, one of Leja's friends (a girl whom in my opinion really was a Slytherin and not a Hufflepuff)- looked. Nicole's face was green and she wasn't eating anything. Nicole was a newer find for Kayla, and not a bad Chaser either- I'd watched her tryout, and she was actually decent- but it was her first real Quidditch match. And she was going up against a team of which three people had been on the winning third-year Ravenclaw team.

I adjusted my cloak as I left the Great Hall. On the way to the field, I nearly knocked into Steven Dickens. He had a very red nose and sneezed as I helped him up.

"Are you okay, Steven?" I asked curiously as I assisted him in getting to his feet. "You sound sick."

"I'm fine, thanks," he assured me in a wheezy voice that said the complete opposite of his statement. "It's just a common cold. I've had it for a few days now. I think I was outside for too long in Hogsmeade. But good luck today, Aly." He chuckled, but it sounded forced. Then again, all of Steven's laughs sounded forced. "I'm still hoping for a Hufflepuff victory, of course, but good luck anyway."

"Thanks," I told him, and the sniffling Prefect set of toward the Great Hall's large wooden entrance doors.

Shaking off my encounter with the sick boy, I headed for the Quidditch pitch. "I just hope I don't catch his cold," I muttered under my breath as I hurried into the changing rooms in the stadium and changed into my thickly padded Beater's gear.

As I pulled on my strong leather gloves and picked up my favorite notched and worn Beater's bat, hefting it from side to side and stretching my arms, the rest of my team members trickled in, chattering like magpies. They changed and grabbed their broomsticks. While we stretched, Lanie and Shawnee fenced briefly with Shawnee's new gloves, _loosening them up_, they claimed. Still, when I suggested a more reasonable way of loosening them up- putting them on and doing stretches like they were supposed to do- they did that instead.

We finished our stretches and when Sir Sutherland poked his head in to inform us that the match would be starting in five minutes, I began my very first Captain's Prep Talk.

"We've got a great team here," I told the six people in assorted positions around the small room between the boys' and girls' changing rooms- perched on the benches (Lanie, Shawnee and Lynne), sitting on the floor (Millie and Helen), and leaning against the wall (Will). Pacing, I kept talking. "We've got three girls who are the fastest, smoothest Chasers in the whole school." (Helen and Lynne broke into grins, and Millie- for whom this was also her first official game, so she too was anxious- managed a nervous smile.) "We've got the nimblest Seeker in the garrison." (Lanie smiled and flexed her shoulderblades, stretching forward to touch her toes- something I still couldn't do even after years of stretches.) "We've got the fiercest Keeper that Ravenclaw has ever seen." (Shawnee cracked her knuckles; I tried not to flinch, but it was habit.) "And two-" I tried to stop myself, but the pun slipped out anyway- "_unbeatable _Beaters."

Millie, Helen, Shawnee and Lanie all groaned playfully, and Lynne waved her hand at me halfheartedly. "You're _horrible_, Aly."

"Try out those new moves we've been practicing," I advised when everyone had recovered from my bad pun. I pointed at Lanie. "Remember that Wronski Feint movie we modified on Wednesday night so we wouldn't injure the other Seeker?" When Lanie nodded, I continued, "Pull that off and soon they'll be calling it by its true name- the Lanie Feint." As Lanie grinned proudly, sitting up straighter and brushing her light brown hair out of her eyes, I directed my attention to Shawnee. "Remember to guard your middle hoop, and that Hufflepuff Chasers like to feint a lot, and-"

"Save a bunch of Quaffles from certain doom," droned Shawnee. "I know."

"I was going to say _never leave the scoring area_," I told her to the giggles of Millie and Lynne, "but yeah, that too. Millie, Helen, Lynne-" I turned to them- "the formations we practiced? Use them. We'll start out with me and Will-" I pointed to myself and then to the blond boy- "revolving around and over whoever takes the Quaffle. The other two- one above, one behind. Got that?"

All four- the three Chasers and Will- nodded.

"Remember," I reminded the three Chasers, "you are a seamless team. You move as one person. Just fly. Don't worry about the Bludgers."

I hefted my club higher on my shoulder as the day's commentator- Lyndsay, once again- started announcing the game as the second game of the season, Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff.

"We'll protect you."

We marched out in formation, with me at the front holding my bat over my shoulder. Lanie and Shawnee stood behind me and to my sides, with Lynne behind and in the middle of _them_. After that, the pattern repeated, with Millie and Helen flanking Lynne to the back, and Will behind them bringing up the rear as Lyndsay boomed, "Salinger!- Kelling!- Haven!- Turnip!- Thresher!- MacDougal!- aaand- _Greene!_"

We got a loud roar from our blue-clad supporters- I spotted Brooklyn near the commentator's box waving a Ravenclaw banner in the air, even though she was dressed in Slytherin green- as Lyndsay flashed me a smile and shouted, "An' now the Hufflepuffs!" We formed a line, even though what I really wanted to do was form a huddle. It was cold and cloudy outside, but not snowing, thank Rowena- not great flying weather, but not bad either. A cold wind played with our cloaks and hair, making me wish I had Shawnee's head-encasing helmet to keep my exposed ears warm and my curly brown ponytail from getting frizzy and windblown. My hair + wind equals _complete and total mess. _I was glad I'd thought to put it in a ponytail before going down to breakfast.

"Strait- Trout- James- Mathieson- Zobrist- Henshawe- and- _Bird!_"

The Hufflepuff side cheered loudly as Kayla walked onto the pitch opposite us, followed by her Chasers- Nicole, a slightly vain girl named Faye James who was in her sixth year, and Jamie Mathieson, all in line; behind them were Alexandra Zobrist, one of the girls who'd accidentally fallen asleep in Professor Gedding's class at the beginning of the year, and Jay Henshawe, Lea's older seventh-year brother, side by side, both carrying Beater's bats; and Mari, her hair in many tiny braids. She had left her usual cat-ear headband- which she wore almost every weekend- in her dorm, apparently, as it wasn't present.

"Captains, shake hands," ordered Sir Sutherland. Kayla held out her hand, which I loosely grasped and shook. She offered me a small smile, which I returned kindly.

"On my whistle," Sir Sutherland instructed us. "One- two-"

_Tweet!_

I kicked off, feeling the cold wind against my face. Even with its sharp bite, it felt good to be in the air playing a real seven-on-seven Quidditch game again.

Immediately, Will and I surrounded Lynne (who had the Quaffle), soaring over and around her. I whacked an incoming Bludger from Alexandra at Nicole Trout, who had been getting closer. She dodged it, but only narrowly.

We raced down the pitch, Millie above us and Helen behind. I could distantly hear Lyndsay's commentary as the cold wind whipped my hair against my ears and neck. (It wasn't long enough to reach my face.)

"Nice revolvin' wing formation the Ravenclaw Beaters have got goin', eh? Combined with the Triangle Formation that the Chasers are formin', it oughta be a difficult one to beat… sure enough, Turnip's made it to the scorin' area, nice Bludger from Henshawe deflected by Greene, and she _SHOOTS_- Lynne Turnip o' Ravenclaw's scored, it's ten-naught Ravenclaw-" here a loud cheer rose from the Ravenclaw end, coupled with groans from the Hufflepuff end, but I ignored it and whacked an offending Bludger at Faye, who had the Quaffle- "guid job Lynne, bad luck Kayla… er, ah mean Turnip an' Strait, sorry Professor, ah forgot ah'm nae supposed to use their first names… James wi' the Quaffle, goin' on her own, nice Bludger from Salinger-" I grinned with pride- "she's dodged it but she's dropped the Quaffle… _right_ into Thresher's hands, an' Thresher's tearin' back up the field, guarded by Greene and MacDougal- she shoots- Strait's saved it, guid job Kay- er, I mean Strait, an' Hufflepuff's in possession… Trout's wi' the Quaffle, nearly misses Mathieson an' she's heading for Haven, who's a rather guid Keeper…"

Ten- nothing. Ten- ten. Twenty- thirty. Soon the score was seventy- sixty, and we were winning, but Shawnee fumbled what should have been an easy save from Jamie Mathieson and we were tied, and I was getting worried- no one had seen hide nor hair of the Snitch yet.

I called a time-out, and the Hufflepuff team flew off to the other side of the pitch to converse. I landed on the grassy field in front of the commentator's box, and my team touched down around me.

"How could you drop the Quaffle?" Helen, who was a bit more competitive than the rest of us, hissed at Shawnee.

"Don't berate Shawnee," I told her, pushing down my own competitive instincts to do the same thing. "You've fumbled the Quaffle once this game, too."

Helen flushed- no doubt remembering her fumble, the one that had led to Jamie Mathieson scoring the fourth goal for Hufflepuff.

I turned on Lanie. Her face was bright red as well, but from the cold wind this time. Lanie had been flying higher up than the rest of us, looking for the Snitch. "Well? No luck?"

She shook her head miserably. "No, and Mari hasn't seen it either."

I'd seen their brief exchange earlier, after our fifth goal, and I'd assumed that they were speaking about something of the sort. "Hmm. Well, if Mari's just as concerned, you'll _definitely _want to try out that modified Wronski Feint. Just make sure that she hasn't seen the _real_ Snitch," I warned.

"You got it, boss," Lanie joked with a smile.

I signaled to Sir Sutherland, who blew his whistle to resume play. We rose into the air and dispersed.

"Th' end to a short time-out called by the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, an' they're all back in the air, looks like it's MacDougal wi' the Quaffle," Lyndsay announced. "Pulls off a guid side pass t' Thresher, but- oh, she en't there; she's been hit wi' a Bludger an' instead Trout catches it, nice Bludger from Greene and MacDougal back in possession, she's rather competitive, this oughta be guid- wait, it- _wait, ha' the Ravenclaw Seeker seen the Snitch?_"

My head snapped up from focusing on protecting Helen. Lanie was speeding towards the Hufflepuff side of the stadium. I glanced back at the Ravenclaw end. Sure enough, the Snitch was hovering over Shawnee's left goalpost- and no one but Shawnee, Lanie and myself had noticed it.

Everything stopped as I watched, as if in slow motion, Mari follow blindly after Lanie, squinting and pushing a few of her many small braids out of her eyes as if she couldn't see the Snitch- which she couldn't, as it wasn't there. Lanie was performing a new move we'd made up, a variation on the Wronski Feint- the Lanie Feint.

When Lanie noticed that Mari was following her at a reasonable pace and that she wasn't far behind, she braked abruptly, swung her broom around, and shot off towards Shawnee and the Ravenclaw goalposts as fast as her broom would allow.

I could see Mari look around in confusion as the rest of us- Beaters, Chasers, Keepers, and audience- froze. Kayla shouted at her from where she flew anxiously in front of her left goalpost, pointing at Lanie, who was now halfway across the field, and waving her arms. Comprehension dawned as Mari realized that she'd been tricked and she followed Lanie, slowly gaining on her.

She caught up with my Seeker five feet from the Snitch. They were neck and neck…

"No!" I screamed in horror. As a last-ditch effort, I whacked the nearest Bludger straight at the small of Mari's back.

But I was too late to do anything. Fingers had closed around the Snitch…

…Lanie's fingers.

Thankfully, Mari dodged the Bludger, so I didn't have to worry about hurting a fellow Prefect- _and we had won! _I let out a large _whoop _of mixed joy and relief. Then I flew over to Lanie and clapped her on the back, congratulating her on a perfectly pulled off Lanie Feint.

"Guid game!" Lyndsay declared. "Final score, two hundred an' twenty to seventy, guid job Ravenclaw!"

My team gathered on the ground for one last big group hug, laughing. As I looked up into the stands to grin at Brooklyn, I saw the wink of Omnioculars behind her. The person wearing them pulled them away from his face.

Nick flashed me a thumbs-up as I looked at him, and I returned the gesture eagerly with a smile. Brooklyn obviously thought it was meant for her, because she grinned and gave me _two_ thumbs-ups.

Then we all put one of our hands in the center- first Will's, then Millie's, then Helen's, then Shawnee's and Lanie's, Lynne's on top of Lanie's, and my long, pale fingers atop of Lynne's tan hand. "RAAAAVENCLAAAW!" we yelled as one, laughing, yanking our hands away and throwing them up into the air.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Lanie added laughingly in a singsong voice.

"That," agreed Helen, "and a Quidditch Cup!"

We went back up to the castle, relieved, hungry, happy. I had forgotten how fun it was to play Quidditch.

**One more chapter until the Christmas Ball! I can't wait... but I have to write it first. I'm about halfway through.**

**In the meantime... I need to know who to include more, and so far only two people have voted in the poll. Just go on my profile and vote for your favorite characters if you want them to show up in the next chapter!**

**~atrfla/Flower**


	10. Chapter 10: Christmas

**Here it is. The chapter I've been working on for too long. The chapter we've all been waiting for. THE CHRISTMAS BALL! *cheers* *throws notebook in the air***

**By the way, the chapter is over 6,000 words long. Hope it's worth the wait.**

"Wake up, wake up, wake _up!_" a voice badgered me. "It's _Christmas!_"

Hands shook me, and I opened my eyes. "Blimey, Lynne, can you be a little more gentle?"

She pointed to the foot of my bed, where a pile of colorfully wrapped gifts was waiting for me. "Who needs _gentle? _You have _presents!_"

"Honestly," I groaned as I sat up and pulled the bedcovers off, "sometimes I think you aren't a Ravenclaw at all. You're a Hufflepuff in disguise."

Lynne just smiled and disappeared behind my curtains. When I opened them, I found that all six of my dorm-mates were already up and opening presents.

"I love the stationary," Lynne called to me from on top of her bed, where she was holding up the cream-and-black stationary I'd bought her at Hogsmeade.

"And the quill!" Shawnee nearly shouted, holding up the sleek eagle-feather quill I'd purchased for her at Scrivenshaft's. "It's gorgeous. Thank you so much."

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Christmas Edition?" gasped Helen, unwrapping the present I'd gotten her. "And _Charms to Make Your Hair Curl_? Oh, thank you, guys!" She ran over to me and Millie and flung her arms around us both, obviously feeling the Christmas spirit.

"Oof," I said. "Oh, okay." I extracted myself from the uncomfortable, Rossalene-like hug. "You're welcome."

"What are you waiting for?" Lynne urged, pausing in tearing the red paper off of her gift from Lanie to berate me. "Open your presents!"

So I did. I unwrapped a box of Special Edition White Chocolate Christmas Frogs from Brooklyn; a package containing two Sugar Quills, a bar of Frog Spawn Soap for pranks, and a Nose-Biting Teacup from Shawnee; a pair of floaty dark blue satin dress robes patterned with a splash of silver sparkles across the right shoulder, chest and sleeve from Leja and Lyndsay; a bottle of perfume from Lanie that smelled like orchids, my favorite flower; a stack of books from my parents; a vial of wand polish and an embroidered handkerchief from Lynne; two charms for my favorite Muggle charm bracelet, a miniature number _5 _from Helen and a little Christmas tree from Helen, both made from silver that would never need to be polished; and a few other assorted gifts, like some fudge from Rossalene.

"Oh, guys!" I smiled at them all. "They're _perfect. _Thank you."

Christmas lunch was light, just enough to hold us off until the Christmas ball and dinner. Everyone was _super _excited, even though Lyndsay was the only one of us Hogsmeade girls to score a date. It didn't mean that others hadn't, though. Millie and Helen were going with Nate Panther and Brandon Trotter (I'd choked with laughter when I first heard _this_ piece of news- Helen and Brandon?). Juliet and Tommy were obviously going together, as were Matt Garza and a Goth Slytherin pureblood named Cheryl London, or just Cher. For a Goth, she was actually really nice. Grace Liu and Conor Mathieson were going together as well. Same with Mari Bird and Niamh Trevett, who'd started dating even though some idiots at the school opposed two girls going out. (They honestly were a very adorable couple.)

After a (peaceful, mostly, but definitely rule-abiding) snowball fight outside, the four of us Ravenclaw girls (minus Polly, of course, who was antisocial anyway but was spending Christmas with her brother; and Lanie and Shawnee) bid goodbye to Leja, Lyndsay, Brooklyn and Rossalene- who had lost against our fierce onslaught of snowballs- and traipsed through the thick, swirling flakes of white to get back to our common room and dorm to get ready for the ball.

I dressed in my new dress robes. Lyndsay and Leja had explained that they'd written to my parents soon after me, explaining not to worry about sending my old dress robes, that they were buying me new ones for Christmas. Admiring the silver sparkles against the silk dark blue sleeve fabric, I helped Lynne tie a complicated knot in her backless dress robes. In return, Lynne- who had an excellent eye for fashion- did my makeup, applying all sorts of things I didn't usually wear, from bright red lipstick to a sparkly silver eyeliner that she put a little line of over and a little curl of at the outer corner of each of my eyes, almost like a downsized Egyptian-type look. When she was done, she spun me toward the latest edition to our dorm- a talking magic mirror that Helen had received that morning from her parents. It'd taken four large screech owls to carry it!

I caught my breath when I saw my reflection. Was that girl in the mirror really _me? _The blue-and-silver robes she wore accentuated her already-pale skin, making the splash of freckles on her nose stand out. (I already had the palest skin in the school- the running joke was that I'd seen a ghost, so maybe this _was _me.) Impossibly long, dark eyelashes framed huge jade green eyes that were too big for her face. Below her petite nose, the girl's small, sweet mouth was open in an _o_, surrounded by lips that were as crimson as the ripest apple, contrasting with her milk-white skin. Her light brown hair was piled in curls on top of her head, and she was almost… fairy-like.

"You look beautiful, hon!" squealed the mirror. "I love that color on you! _So _gorgeous!"

I blushed. "Er… thanks, mirror." Then I stepped away from its reflective surface and glanced over at my dorm-mates, who were just as beautiful. Millie was wearing robes of a deep vermilion red, and her dark hair with the blond streaks was styled in a braided crown updo over and around her head. Helen stood beside her, her brown-blond hair falling in ringlets over her shoulders, dressed in robes of a bluish-green turquoise. Lynne stood a little way away from them, tying strappy gold sandals onto her feet. Her dress robes were gorgeous- the top was a complicated, backless web of gold straps, melding seamlessly into a sleek gold dancing skirt with a thick, curling ribbon of deep, rich mahogany brown at the hem, contrasting beautifully with her tan skin and feathery brown hair that she had pulled up into an elegant French twist. And then there was Polly, standing in the corner, half-hidden behind her bed-curtains. She wore robes of burnt orangey-red, her wispy brown hair styled into a simple braided bun at the nape of her neck.

Millie linked arms with Helen and went out of the dormitory door. Lynne and I linked arms and she tried to follow them, but I stopped and held my hand out to Polly. "Want to walk down with us, Polly?"

Polly came out of hiding, looking at me with large, curious blue eyes. "Sure," she said softly, linking her arm in mine.

We went down to the common room, which was a sea of different colors instead of a never-ending ocean of black. I spotted Will and Eric next to one wall, Will in robes of light blue and Eric in dark gray, talking. Lynne pulled Polly and me through the crowd, dodging around a group of third-year girls in varying shades of pink, and out of the common room.

In the entrance hall, Brooklyn and Leja were waiting for us, both in their new dress robes. Leja looked surprised to see Polly, but asked no questions, and Brooklyn just ignored the shorter girl. Instead, she focused on Lynne and me, smiling.

"You guys look gorgeous," I said to our Slytherin friends. Brooklyn's long dark hair was braided down her back in a snakelike plait, and her new dress robes were an almost _gaudy_-looking green with gold trim in old Nordic patterns along the neckline and the hems of the sleeves and skirt. On anyone else, it would've made their skin look pasty and their ensemble tacky- but Brooklyn's pale skin and dark hair made her look regal, like a queen. All she was missing was a crown. And Leja was stunning in her new fuchsia robes. The way the embroidered flowers draped over her arm made it look like there were real blossoms sewn onto the sleeve, which was a truly beautiful look. Leja's hair was pulled up into a loose bun on the top of her head, and she wore excessive amounts of makeup- shimmery lip gloss, mascara, and blush were only some of the cosmetics I could see she'd used. And, well- Leja could pull almost anything off, including makeup that would've looked caked-on on another person. She practically oozed confidence.

"Brooklyn! Aly! Leja! Lynne! Polly!" Rossalene shouted, making her way through throngs of people to get to us. I turned to face her, catching a glimpse of Millie hanging on to Nate's arm, gazing up at hi with a misty-eyed look I'd never seen on my roommate. Rossalene skidded to a stop in front of us, beaming brightly. Her long, straight, shiny black hair was done up in an extravagant braided updo that made her tresses look like roses and she wore silky robes of a light lilac color. A big lavender flower with five large petals perched behind her ear, matching her robes, and when I glanced down, I could see Rossalene's favorite white dancing slippers peeking out of her floor-length dress robes.

"You look really pretty!" I said, smiling at her.

She huffed loudly. "And you- how did you get so gorgeous? It's only been an hour! You look like a fairy!"

I dipped a shallow curtsy, smiling shyly. "Lynne did my makeup!"

"And _Lynne!_" Rossalene shrieked, making a beeline for my friend. "You look _trés bon_- so elegant!"

Lynne grinned and thanked her, then corrected, "You're pronouncing _trés bon _wrong, it's _trés bon_, not _tres buen_…"

I turned away from the mini French lesson, nearly bumping into Lyndsay as I did. The Scottish girl peered worriedly around the entrance hall, scanning clumps of boys. "Ah wonder where Eli is," she murmured anxiously.

I patted her arm, which was sheathed in a shining sleeve. "You'll be fine, Lyndsay. Did I tell you how striking you look? Eli's going to be chasing away jealous suitors all night."

Lyndsay blushed softly. "Ah wouldn't say _tha'_…"

"He will," I insisted. "I guarantee it." For she did look very pretty in robes of shimmering bronze, her hair falling free of any headband down her back in gentle light brown waves.

Just then, a voice behind us said, "Mademoiselle." It was deeper than normal, but definitely Johnny's. I turned around just in time to see him bow deeply to Lynne and ask, "If it's not too much and you don't have a partner… I was wondering if you would be so kind as to give me the pleasure of your first dance?"

I gave a little "Oh!" of shock as the girls around Lynne and Johnny cooed. Lynne blushed beet red, still managing to look as elegant as ever, and stammered, "Of- of course, I'd love that."

I turned to Lyndsay as Lynne took Johnny's offered arm. "Did _you_ know that Johnny fancied Lynne?"

Lyndsay nodded. "Ah've known since second year. It's obvious, en't it?"

I shook my head. "Apparently everyone but me thought so, too."

Then the doors to the Great Hall opened, and it was everyone _else's_ turn to give little "Oh!"s of surprise.

The Great Hall was decorated with snow-covered Christmas trees, shining ice sculptures, and tinsel galore. An ice stage stood at one end of the Hall, next to the icy dais, with a piano and other assorted instruments atop it. There was a bar-type counter along one wall, and stocked behind it was everything from butterbeers to firewhisky (adults only). Standing behind the counter was Madam Rosmerta, the old owner of the Three Broomsticks who had been very beautiful in her youth and had still managed to retain an air of elegance into her old age. The teachers all sat at the high table upon the dais, which was situated right in front of the dance floor. Closer to the doors were enough tables, each with four chairs, to fit the whole school. The only reason I wasn't surprised at the decorations was that I'd helped bedeck the walls in the shimmering silver banners and summoned the snow that covered the Christmas trees back before the snowball fight earlier that day.

We sat. Lyndsay got lost from me in the crowd, so I ended up at a table with Brooklyn, Leja and Rossalene. Looking around, I spotted Lyndsay with Eli- both looking very happy- as well as Polly with her brother and Johnny with Lynne. As it was rare to see Johnny without Matt, I instinctively looked around for the other prankster. He was pulling a chair out for Cher, who was dressed in a lacy black pair of dress robes with see-through lace sleeves.

Headmaster Fourier stood up and looked around. "Shall we dance first," he asked us, "or eat?"

The answer was nearly unanimous. "Dance!"

"All right," he replied with a small chuckle. "I'd like everyone to participate in this one, the ceremonial first dance."

Brooklyn, Rossalene, Leja and I all exchanged nervous glances. We didn't have dates to dance with. _Oh, this ought to be fun. I wonder who I'll end up dancing with? Probably some nervous first year who'll step on my toes._

"So… to the dance floor!" concluded Headmaster Fourier with a wave of his hand.

"Excellent," I groaned sarcastically.

"Someone called for a knight in shining armor?"

I turned around, then froze. "N-Nick," I stammered, laughing a little. A blush was surely making its way up into my cheeks. "We didn't call for a knight."

"No?" he said, smirking. "Oh, right. It was the look of distress upon your face that plainly called for one."

"Don't you have a date to get back to?" I retorted, standing up.

He replied instead, "My lady?" and offered me the crook of his elbow. I could tell I was going to get an earful when I got back to my friends, but I took his arm.

Nick whirled me away from my friends and into position on the dance floor. I caught Lyndsay's eye, and her face showed a range of emotions from surprise to elation before she gave me a huge thumbs-up and a matching grin.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Nick, who was watching me closely, cocked an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"My friends," I answered with a groan. "They're going to tease me incessantly about this. They'll think I fancy you."

He raised both eyebrows. "Don't you?"

What- _Rowena! _I nearly shoved him away. _He is an arrogant little Seeker, isn't he? Assuming I fancy him just because I accepted his offer to dance, when in fact I only accepted because I needed a dance partner?_

Because surely that's why I'd accepted his kind offer!

A group of seventh-year students climbed up onto the ice stage, took their positions at their instruments, and- at a nod from Headmaster Fourier- struck up a mournful slow song.

Nick entwined his hand in mine- a shiver ran up my arm, because he had cold hands, _only_ because he had cold hands- and started leading me through the steps. Forward, backward, side to side we danced. As the tune grew steadily faster, we revolved and spun around the room. I quite enjoyed myself, even when the song morphed into a rather jauntier and bouncier tune that was more difficult to dance to. I stayed with Nick for that second song too, and just when it was ending, someone stepped on my shoe and I felt more than heard the soft cloth of the dancing slippers tear.

Before I could tell Nick, he swept me down into a dip. When he swung me up, it struck me how very close our faces were.

It must have hit him too, because he froze. We were two people staring at each other, frozen in a dance pose in the middle of the dance floor while masses of couples waltzed around us.

I broke the silence between us by saying, "Nick," in the most vulnerable voice I'd ever heard myself speak in.

"Aly?" he whispered.

I tore my green eyes away from his blue ones, looking bashfully down towards the floor instead. I cleared my throat. "My shoe's broken."

He escorted me to a table near the dance floor's edge and helped me sit down. Even then, the spell was still hanging over us; but then one of Nick's friends- Nathan, I noticed, his arm around a slim girl with coarse dark hair- called his name and the spell was shattered.

"I may or may not be back," Nick said almost guiltily. "You know how my friends are-" and then he darted off towards them.

I fixed my torn shoe with a simple "_Reparo!_" and sat watching the dancers. The beating of my heart- too fast- made what I'd been trying to deny to myself for so long impossible to shy away from any longer.

I was in love with Nick.

Maybe not _in love_. Maybe I just fancied him a bit. But I definitely had feelings for him that were stronger than any friend's… which would make facing my friends a whole lot harder. I looked around for the handsome, arrogant Seeker who had captured my heart, but I didn't see him.

Headmaster Fourier silenced the magicians after that third song with a wave of his hand. "I don't know about all of you," he announced to the couples who were now standing listlessly on the dance floor, "but I'm _starving_… so let's eat!"

There was a loud cheer as the dancers swarmed the tables. Brooklyn, who had been dancing with Eric, and Leja, who had been dancing with a tall blonde Hufflepuff named Noah Docherty, sat down at my table. They were eerily silent- Brooklyn probably fuming from the humiliation of having to dance with her _ex-boyfriend _even though they were still okay friends, and Leja out of courtesy to Brooklyn- but as soon as a grinning Rossalene, who had been waltzing with Steven Dickens of all people, sat down across from Leja, the floodgates burst open.

Brooklyn forgot about Eric and raised one cool, calculating eyebrow at me. I wasn't fooled- one of Brooklyn's favorite pastimes was interrogating her friends about who they fancied. "So… Nick Justice, huh?"

"He's a bit cocky," Leja chimed in, "but handsome, I suppose."

"Please don't," I began, but Brooklyn grinned and Leja nudged me in the shoulder with a knowing wink.

"You two are _so_ cute together," gushed Rossalene breathlessly. She was happier than usual- practically shining- after finding a real partner to dance with- one who had asked her to dance after Nick had asked me, according to her jubilant expression. "And you're perfect for each other!"

"How?" I challenged, secretly enjoying this news.

"The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Quidditch Captains?" she squealed. "A Seeker and a Beater? Brave _and _smart? Plus, he's really good-looking and you're positively dazzling! Your kids would be practically _flawless!_"

"_Ross!_" I protested. I was sure I was blushing a fire-truck red, but if I was, no one pointed it out.

"What about you and Steven?" Leja teased.

Rossalene's rosy cheeks became even rosier, and she opened her mouth to reply, but Headmaster Fourier interrupted her. "Please consult your menus," he advised us, "and tell your plates what you would like to eat. _Tuck in!_"

He then glanced at the embossed piece of paper lying by the side of his plate, leaned very close to the silvery-white dish, and said, loudly and very clearly, "_Goulash!_"

And goulash appeared on his plate. This was the same method of ordering food that had been used at last year's Christmas Ball, and so it was quite easy for me to place my order for a vegetable curry. Brooklyn, Leja and Rossalene placed their respective orders for cheese-and-leek soufflé, bangers and mash, and rumbledethumps, and they temporarily forgot about the Aly-and-Nick situation and turned to their food.

When the Christmas feast was over- many people having asked for seconds or even thirds- the music struck back up. Nick, whom I had spotted halfway through my curry, looked preoccupied trying to talk to Nathan and the coarse-haired girl—I was pretty sure her name was Elyse or something similar—so I stayed seated. A dark-haired Slytherin sixth-year boy I didn't know asked Brooklyn to dance, and with a casual shrug and a frostiness that only Brooklyn could pull off, my best friend stepped onto the dance floor. Leja started waltzing with Eric- which was funny to watch, since she was a good six inches taller than him- and Rossalene and Steven started doing a neat foxtrot near them. I heaved myself up and went over to the counter.

Three-quarters of a butterbeer and two songs later, I was nearly dozing even though it was barely seven o'clock. _Great. I'm the Ravenclaw Prefect and I'm setting a lovely example, sitting alone with a butterbeer on Christmas night. I should've gone home for the holidays._

The shatter of crystal woke me from my sleepy haze. My head snapped up and I found myself staring at Eli Lupin on the edge of the dance floor. He was in turn staring at Lyndsay. My friend had been dancing with Noah, Leja's partner from earlier, and she stepped away from him not guiltily but defiantly.

"I walk away for _five minutes_ to get drinks," Eli nearly screeched. His face was bright red, but that was pretty normal. "And I come back to find you _cheating _on me?"

"Ah wasn't _cheatin' _on ye!" Lyndsay protested, flushing angrily.

"You don't call slow-dancing with a Hufflepuff _cheating?_"

By now everyone had frozen. First years and seventh-years alike had stopped dancing and were staring wide-eyed at the Scottish girl and the white-haired boy. The cellist's bow dangled from her hand; next to her, the flautist had lowered her silver flute and the violinists' violins were slipping off of their shoulders. The pianists' hands hovered over the piano keys. Only the oboist continued playing, sending haunting notes echoing through the Great Hall.

Even the professors were watching.

"Ah _don't_," Lyndsay defended herself, "but if ye do, ye're welcome tae _leave _me 'ere."

"I'll do that!" Eli snapped, turning and storming away. He nearly stumbled over a shard of glass- he'd dropped a mug of butterbeer, I guessed. As he passed by my table, I noticed a tear trailing its way down his scarlet face.

Professor Burton hurried onto the dance floor and repaired the crystal glass, cleaning up the spilled butterbeer as Headmaster Fourier stood up. "Please," he implored, "resume dancing."

The musicians shakily started up a bouncy tune. The dancing started again, and Lyndsay began waltzing with Noah once more, her jaw set firmly. It was only the tears in her eyes that clued me into the fact that she was just as upset as Eli.

I sat, open-mouthed, alone at a table as dancers in colorful robes whirled in front of me. _How could have that have happened? They were so perfect together- exhilarated at the beginning of the ball- I don't understand!_

Before I could think on it further, a swath of cream-colored fabric cut across my vision. Sure enough, when I looked, it was Nick. And he was _dancing- _twirling the coarse-haired girl across the dance floor. _Elysa_, I remembered. She was a Gryffindor- one of Lea and Lorie's crowd. She wore two much eyeliner and brilliant white robes. She blinked up at Nick, fluttered her eyelashes and threw her head back in an overly loud laugh. Nick bent his head to whisper in her ear, the ear that not only was daintily pointed but also the color of coffee, just like the rest of her skin. This caused Elysa to giggle again. She reached up and brushed her lips against his cheek, which he seemed to enjoy.

I recoiled. Not an hour earlier, Nick had been dancing with _me_. He'd been teasing _me_. He'd promised to try to return. And here he was, dancing with one of the popular crowd, not having meant a word of it.

I stood in a flurry of robes, knocking over my chair in my haste to leave, to get away from the Gryffindor boy. As I righted it, someone collapsed into the seat next to mine. _Brooklyn_.

"How was your dance?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from cracking with the betrayal I felt.

"Hm?" she asked absently, watching the dance floor. "Oh, you mean with Kian? It was fine. I met him in the common room last week, and we played a game of wizard's chess. He's all right." Then she noticed my betrayed expression. "Wait, Aly, what's wrong?"

I sat down, then pointed at Nick and recounted my tale. When I had finished, Brooklyn pulled her wand out and fingered the solid black handle darkly. "I'll get him," she muttered menacingly. "Do you think I could hit him with a Bat-Bogey Hex from here?"

"Brooklyn!" I gasped, horrified. "You can't just _jinx _him!"

"Why not? Revenge is sweet," she pointed out, tapping the tip of her wand on the table. It looked like a stack of marbles under the silvery light, ready to fall apart even though I knew it was just carved from wood.

"It's _against the rules,_" I said, emphasizing my last few words.

"Well then, I suppose you won't help me hex-" She mumbled the name, and I didn't catch it, but it peaked my interest. Brooklyn did a good job of hiding her emotions, but even I could tell this one. My best friend was jealous.

"Who?" I asked. "I may be able to help-" I faltered, realizing that I would be breaking the rules. "Well…" My loyalty to my best friend won out over my loyalty to the school, and I continued, "I guess you're right. I need to get some anger out, but you have to have a valid reason for wanting to hex- whoever it is."

She perked up, then motioned to the dance floor. "See Conor there?"

I looked. Conor, in robes of red and bronze, was dancing exuberantly with a girl I couldn't see the face of. "Yeah. Why? You want to hex the _Gryffindor Prefect?_" Worry clouded my mind.

"No," she grumbled. "Just look at who he's dancing with."

Just then, Conor spun the girl around and I caught a glimpse of her face. "Grace? He asked her to the dance. Why-" It hit me. "You want to hex _Grace Liu?_ She's a Prefect, too!"

Brooklyn flushed darkly and then confessed: "I had a crush on Conor. _Until _he asked Grace out."

"So you want revenge on her," I guessed, the pieces falling into place in my mind. "That makes sense- but she's also a Chaser on your team, wouldn't you…" I hesitated. Part of me did want revenge on Grace. After all, she'd told Jamie Mathieson I liked her brother in first year, after she'd sworn to keep my secret. It wasn't _my _fault she'd overheard me talking to Rossalene. And I'd wanted to get even with her ever since, although my desire for retribution had lessened somewhat after I'd discovered that we were both Prefects. After all, normally Prefects didn't take part in that sort of vulgar behavior.

But I wasn't normal, was I?

I pulled out my wand. "All right. On three?"

The shock on Brooklyn's face quickly morphed into delight. "One."

"Two."

"Three!"

"_Furnunculus!_" I hissed, pointing my skinny cedar wand at Grace's back, which was conveniently turned toward us at that time. Next to me, Brooklyn whispered a curse I didn't hear. A golden jet of light shot from my wand, a red one from hers, and they hit Grace squarely between her shoulder blades.

I sheathed my wand instantly with a quick motion that barely caused a rustle of my robes. Brooklyn did the same, and we joined the crowd of onlookers as Grace shrieked, a bone-chilling sound that echoed through the silver Hall.

When she stumbled around to see who had jinxed her, I stifled a giggle. Little green tentacles had sprouted all over her face, and they were waving wildly. Calm, collected, somewhat aloof Grace had transformed into shrieking, stumbling, seaweed-faced Grace.

And Conor was shocked, too. He scrambled backwards, a look of horror on his face. I shared a satisfied grin with Brooklyn. _Revenge is sweet, no matter how much I'm not supposed to seek it._

"Boys and girls!" Professor O'Cain broke through the crowd. When she caught sight of Grace, she drew in a breath. "Oh, dear. Let's get you to the hospital wing." She put an arm around Grace's shoulders and steered her through the gaping crowd.

Headmaster Fourier stood up, looking angrily from one face to another. He hated when students were hexed and had obviously thought that on Christmas no one would dare do such a thing. I bit back a concerned frown. _I hadn't thought about the fact that it's Christmas!_

"The student who just hexed the Slytherin Prefect will now step forward," Headmaster Fourier announced.

No one moved. I glanced at Brooklyn, but she was watching Headmaster Fourier with a look of detached interest.

Our Headmaster sighed. "All right. We will be undergoing a full investigation into this, but for now, please resume dancing. Prefects, Head Boy and Girl, may I speak with you?"

The nine of us moved towards the dais, where we crowded around Headmaster Fourier. Even Eli was there, although his eyes were red, like he'd been crying. Steven too was present, and even though he was coughing madly and seemed rather ill, he looked happy. _Who knows? It's always the couples that no one suspects that turn out to be the best ones._

"Did anyone see the jinxer?" Headmaster Fourier asked in a low tone.

We all shook our heads, a pain shooting through my heart at the lie.

"I was getting a butterbeer with Niamh," Mari explained.

"I was- _cough- _dancing with- _cough cough- _Rossalene."

"I wasn't in the Hall," contributed Eli.

"I was talking to Brooklyn," I half-lied. "All I saw was two jets of light."

"I was dancing," Will said evasively.

Conor, still pretty shaken up from his dance partner sprouting tentacles, nudged him with his shoulder. "With who, mate?"

Will shrugged. "No one."

"It was Lorie," Mari informed us.

Both Will and Lorie turned as scarlet as Eli, but before either could say anything, Headmaster Fourier waved his hand. "Let's not tease each other about dance partners- and I didn't need to know _why _you didn't see the person who hexed the delightful Miss Liu, only that you didn't. Go back to enjoying yourselves," he ordered, "but keep an eye out for wands being drawn."

We nodded. Austin and the Head Girl, Kit Causey, swept onto the dance floor together. Steven went off in search of Rossalene. Lorie and Will followed in Austin and Kit's footsteps, somewhat less embarrassed, while Mari met up with Niamh and relieved her of one of the two butterbeers her friend was carrying. Conor spotted Nate with Millie and his other best friend Marshall Perrine, a scrawny Gryffindor boy, and made a beeline for them. This left me and Eli.

I scanned the room for Brooklyn; not finding her, I turned to Eli. "Do you see-" My breath caught in my throat. Eli wasn't there. In his place was a boy with tawny hair, very pale skin, and freckles. I caught a glimpse of Eli's blue eyes before they turned greenish-brown.

"_Eli?_"

He raised his arms. "Do you think Lyndsay will recognize me?"

I gasped, the realization hitting me like a thunderbolt. "You're going back in for one last dance!"

He winced. "Is it that bad of an idea?"

"No!" I assured him. "It's rather sweet."

"In that case," he persisted, "do you think she'll recognize me like this?"

I looked him over. His nose was longer and his lips were thinner; his hair, skin and eye colors had changed; but he still wore robes of light gray and gold.

"Your robes are the same," I said, pulling out my wand. "I can fix that, if you like."

"Please do," he implored me, fixing those greenish-brown eyes on me. "I feel horrible for leaving her and then yelling at her. She had every right to dance with someone else while she waited for me."

I smiled at him. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Lyndsay really likes you. She was _thrilled _when you asked her." Then I pointed my wand at the sleeve of his robes and muttered, "_Colovaria._" The light gray fabric shimmered and turned a muted greenish-yellow. It wasn't the prettiest color, and Eli blanched- which I didn't think was possible, considering that his skin at the moment was nearly as pale as mine- when he saw it. "Maybe… darker?"

"Oh, sure." I tapped his sleeve and murmured the incantation again, and his robes turned a dark forest green. The trim was still gold, so I performed the Color-Changing Charm a third time to turn it silver. When I was finished, he looked _nothing _like Eli Lupin.

Eli grinned when he caught sight of his reflection in one of the silvery mirrored tabletops. "Thanks, Aly. I don't know how I can repay you-"

I waved him off. "Go. Have fun. Make Lyndsay happy."

His grin grew wider and he disappeared into the dancing crowd. In a moment, I spotted him bowing to Lyndsay, and watched as she eagerly took his hand. Even as someone else, Eli was utterly charming.

I'd meant to watch them further, but just then a pair of dancers swept in front of me, cutting off my view. It was Nick and Elysa, the latter of whom was chattering on flirtatiously. A pang of jealousy struck my heart, and I turned away- just as a blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the Hall. And I knew the voice.

_Rossalene._

"Ross!" I shouted, spinning around and pushing through dancers to reach her. "Excuse me, Prefect business, coming through, excuse me, Prefect-"

I ducked around Matt and Cher and found myself on the edge of a circle staring at Rossalene, in the center. Her hair had fallen out of her updo, and streamed in a shiny, silky black waterfall down her back. She knelt over Steven, who was lying on the cold floor, being very still. A sensation like cold water trickled down my back. _Is he dead?_

"He just- _fell!_" Rossalene wailed, catching sight of me. "Is he-"

I ran over to her before she could finish and lifted Steven's arm. A pulse beat on the inside of his wrist- slow, but steady. I let out a sigh of relief. "He's just fainted. That's all."

The teachers broke through the thick crowd. "What happened here?" asked Professor Zeller, the Arithmancy teacher.

"Not another hex!" cried Professor Brocklehurst. "Is someone determined to take out the prefects?"

That thought had also just occurred to me, but I dismissed it and shook my head as I turned to face them, spinning on my heels while I crouched on the floor. "I don't think he's been hexed," I informed them. "He's been sick; I think he just fainted. Here, I can wake him up easily." I turned back to Steven, drew my wand, and pointed it at his forehead. With a confident ring in my voice, I said, "_Rennervate_."

…and nothing happened.

"_Rennervate_," I said more firmly. "_Rennervate!_" I looked up at the teachers. "Why isn't it working?"

Professor Longbottom said something quietly to Headmaster Fourier. The latter nodded. "The ball is over," he announced. "Please return to your common rooms."

I made as if to leave with the crowd, but Headmaster Fourier shook his head. "Not you, Miss Salinger." Then he shouted, "I'd like to see the Prefects, Head Boy and Girl, the students who researched for Professor Longbottom at the end of October, and Miss Chung to stay. _We need to talk_."

**Well? Was it worth it? Leave me what you thought, what your guesses are as for what's going to happen with Aly and Nick, what's wrong with Steven... just review and I'll be happy! And the happier the author gets, the more she posts!**

**...oh, and happy Valentine's day, by the way.**


	11. Chapter 11: Explanation

Headmaster Fourier waved his wand. Like that, the Hall was back to normal- no silver, just normal House colors and four House tables. The teachers sat at their normal table- except Professor Gedding, who had left to bring Steven to the hospital wing- while the rest of us crowded the front parts of the House tables. Mari and Rossalene were all alone at the Hufflepuff table. Will, Lynne and I inhabited the Ravenclaw table while next to us Austin and Eli sat on the opposite side of the table from Brooklyn and Leja. On the Puffs' other side Conor, Lorie, Kit and Lyndsay. We were quiet- somber, even.

"I think you all know of the plague?" Headmaster Fourier started off by asking.

Kit, a tall, broad-shouldered girl with short black hair, stood up- no, _shot _up. I knew Kit a little, since she was one of Polly's friends, but not well. "What do you mean, a _plague?_" she demanded.

Headmaster Fourier sighed a little, then proceeded to explain about the Plant Plague that was probably just the plague now that it wasn't only attacking plants. When he had finished, Kit folded her arms.

"We didn't know about this _why?_" she asked in a voice that was probably supposed to be calm but was just a mix of scared and angry.

"We didn't want widespread panic," Headmaster Fourier told her evenly. "Especially since we weren't sure it would spread to humans. Now that Mr. Dickens is showing all of the symptoms we saw in the plants, we must assume that it has. We must now recall all students to Hogwarts. We can't risk the infection being spread to anywhere outside of Hogwarts. We _must _keep it contained."

"What about the Muggles?" asked Lorie softly at the same time Conor burst out, "But there's a cure, _right?_"

Headmaster Fourier first dipped his head to Lorie. "The disease will not spread to any organisms that have not been touched by magic, in answer to your question, Miss Braithnoch. Unless a curse has been performed on said Muggle, all of them will be safe." Then he nodded to Conor. "And… I'm afraid not, Mr. Mathieson. Unfortunately, a cure has not yet been discovered. But we will be working our hardest to find one, I quite assure you."

"So," Conor said, standing up, "let me get this straight." He started pacing crossly, ticking off his points on his fingers. "This plague thing makes plants and animals and people sick, then puts them in a sleeplike coma from which they _never wake up_- and this disease is _rampant _at Hogwarts?"

"I believe you understand all of the points, yes," said Headmaster Fourier pleasantly.

Conor threw up his hands. "Unbelievable!"

"If it's difficult to accept," Austin said to him, "maybe-"

Lyndsay cut him off by asking, "So Hogwarts is a quarantine zone? Ah'm stuck- _we're _all stuck 'ere until ye find a cure?"

"Indeed," replied Headmaster Fourier. "But business shall go on as usual. Seventh-years will take their N.E.W.T.s and fifth-years their O.W.L.s, although I'm afraid that the normal examiners will not be allowed to test them- we'll have to do it ourselves. Exams will still go on, as will classes and extracurricular activities. However, all further Hogsmeade trips will be banned, _as will owl post_."

This last one hit some of the people around me like a thunderbolt. "_What?_" five of them cried at the same time.

Headmaster Fourier nodded, looking grave. "Owls have been exposed to magic. By sending letters, we may very well send death by mail."

I didn't write to people often, but some of my friends did, and Headmaster Fourier was saying we'd be _completely _cut off from the rest of the world! How would I let my parents know I was alright?

"I know of a few school owls who have actually never been exposed to magic," our Headmaster went on, brushing a lock of straight dark hair out of his eyes. "I will send a letter to the _Daily Prophet _and the _Quibbler_ about our… situation. They will spread the word that all students must return immediately to school and that no owls shall furthermore be allowed onto the property. Our teachers will be working to find a cure when they have a free period." His piercing blue eyes drilled into us. "I would like _you‑_ the student leaders, the ones who are most talented, the ones who understand the most- to help them."

"I'm in," I said immediately, before anyone else could even open their mouths. When everyone turned to look at me- not in confusion or fear, but in agreement- I felt the need to explain. "Too many students died last year. I'm not letting some bloody illness ruin _another_ year for me."

"Well said!" barked Austin pompously, and my classmates and teachers applauded my words with a quick few claps. One by one, my fellow students nodded their heads, pitching in to the cause.

"Excellent," Headmaster Fourier said, standing up. "I must send those letters immediately if I want them to appear in tomorrow's Holiday editions of those papers. Prefects, I expect you to explain to your Houses why we are now, in the words of Miss Winters, a _quarantine zone_." He bowed, adding, "Also, if there are any students whom you believe would be beneficial to the cause of finding a cure, do not hesitate to go into more detail on the plague when you speak to them." Then he left, leaving us to do the same.

I trudged back to Ravenclaw Tower, a little ahead of Lynne and Will, who were talking in low, somber voices. The Christmas holiday had started out great and turned into a complete fiasco by the end. Now we were quarantined at Hogwarts- _and _I was going to be forced to explain exactly _why _to my house. _Can this get any worse?_

***coughs***

***cues announcer voice***

**Do YOU want your favorite character to appear more in Fifth Year?**

**Vote on my poll, and he/she could do JUST THAT!**

**(All right, I'm done. Hope you enjoyed it.)**


	12. Chapter 12: Ravenclaw versus Slytherin

Over the next few days, droves of students returned to Hogwarts. Over the next few weeks, two more students came down with the plague and slipped into comas- a Slytherin fourth-year and a Ravenclaw second-year, the very boy who'd tried out for Beater back in early October (the skinny one who'd had excellent aim). Ravenclaws cried for him the day he Went Comatose, and I stayed up half the night comforting his fourth-year sister, who was bawling her eyes out.

Going Comatose was all anyone ever talked about in those days. If someone came down with a cold, within the hour the nicer people would be worrying over them and the less compassionate would be placing bets on when they would Go Comatose. For it was true- we'd figured out that the symptoms of a particularly bad cold were actually the symptoms of the plague and soon the afflicted would Go Comatose. All three victims at the time had been sniffling, sneezing, and coughing their way through the weeks before their comas.

Not knowing what was happening in the world hurt us all. We got no _Daily Prophet _or _Quibbler_. We received no letters. We were completely cut off and even the teachers hated it. Punishment for sending an owl was at least a week of detention, and spells were placed around the Owlery to ward off those few students who didn't care about detention. We couldn't risk spreading the disease.

But otherwise life went on as normal. Leja blew up her cauldron during one memorable Potions class, knocking over a few other people's cauldrons and spilling her Invigoration Draught all over the floor. As a result, she had to use a cauldron that was probably as old as Professor Longbottom and that was melting through in places. Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology's lessons often felt cobbled together, due to many of the plants and creatures _intended _for the lesson Going Comatose at the last minute. Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies were pretty much the same as they always were. In Transfiguration, Shawnee accidentally Transfigured a sneezing Ella Nguyen into a table and it took half the lesson to Transfigure her back because Professor Descoteaux couldn't figure out the proper counter-curse.

That day- January 27th- Lyndsay caught up with me after a Herbology class full of sluggish Chinese Chomping Cabbages that wouldn't bite my hand even if I shoved my fingers in front of it and waved them back and forth. (I didn't try it, but some idiots- _cough Nick cough- _did.) She nudged me, looking happier than I'd seen her since the ball. "Guess what?"

I immediately went on my guard. Lyndsay had no idea that Eli had been the tawny-haired boy at the ball- he'd told her his name was Lyall, his great-grandfather's name. But Lyndsay didn't look betrayed or hurt- she looked _delighted. _"What?"

"Ye know tha' Tommy Wood Went Comatose a week ago, righ'?" she pestered me.

I nodded. Juliet Livesey had been positively miserable ever since, moping around and spending every spare moment of time in the hospital wing- which at that time held 5 comatose patients (Steven, the Slytherin girl, the second-year boy, Tommy, and Seamus Trotter, the last of whom Brooklyn was absolutely elated about).

"Well," Lyndsay went on, "Nick just asked me tae sub in as Beater! En't it great? Ah'll be playin' against ye for the fourth match!"

"Great," I said absentmindedly. My mind wasn't on the fourth match, but the third- Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw, scheduled for February 11th. Seamus had been replaced by Marcus Rice, Leja's incredibly annoying little third-year brother. He was short and stocky, and didn't have very good aim, but he could swing a bat pretty powerfully. He'd smashed a hole in the Quidditch stands with his first hit during the Slytherins' practice- or so Brooklyn told me- and I was slightly worried. If someone small and wiry like Lynne or Lanie got a direct hit from Marcus, it could knock them off their broom and maybe even seriously injure them.

"Ah can't wait," Lyndsay enthused. "Ah'll beat the Ravenclaw team. Ooh, can ye beat Slytherin so ah can beat the _undefeated _Ravenclaw team?"

"I'm not losing to Nick." The arrogant Captain and I hadn't spoken since Christmas. Every time I saw him hurrying toward me, I went the other way. The jealousy and hurt I'd felt at the ball rose in my throat every time I saw him or Elysa.

"Suit yerself," Lyndsay said cheerily, heading off in the direction of Potions through the snow.

"Aly!"

I recognized the voice and instead of turning around, I sped up. It was Nick.

"Aly," he repeated, skidding to a stop beside me and sending a flurry of snow up from the ground. "Hey, I-"

"I don't want to be late for Charms," I muttered, taking a hard left into the castle.

He stayed by my side, keeping pace with me. "'Course not. I just want to say-"

"I don't want to listen." I ascended a flight of stairs and turned into a long corridor, going _away _from the Potions classroom (where he was supposed to be going), but he followed me.

"Listen, Aly, I know-"

I reached the Charms classroom, tuning him out, and stepped inside. He tried to come after me, still talking, but Professor Brocklehurst accosted him at the door. "Say, Mr. Justice, shouldn't you be in Potions? Hm? Yes, I thought so. I think you'd best go there, as Professor Burton doesn't react well to latecomers. Mm-hmm. Good-bye!" And she closed the door in his face.

I loved Professor Brocklehurst.

The next time I saw Nick was as I walked onto the Quidditch field. It was snowing lightly, but through the light snowfall I could see him sitting beside the commentator's box, next to Alex and Ella- the latter of whom seemed perfectly fine (her cold had cleared up, for it had to be just that, a cold). Nick caught my eye, held up his Omnioculars, and gave me a thumbs-up as Lyndsay boomed, "Salinger- Kelling- Haven- Turnip- Thresher- MacDougal- and- _Greene!_" in the background.

I ignored him, turning away.

Austin strode over to me, followed by Brooklyn, Grace, Anise, Zola, Marcus, and Brandon. "Wood- Vawdrey- Liu- Cheverell- Greene- Rice- and- _Trotter!_" Lyndsay shouted as I grinned at Brooklyn. She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at me, and I could see the coat of dry grease across her palms. _She's been using the Mini Broomstick Servicing Kit, then. Cool._

"Captains, shake hands!" ordered Sir Sutherland. I shook Austin's huge mitt of a hand firmly, and only once.

"Mount your brooms," Sir Sutherland continued. "Start on my whistle. One, two-"

_Tweet!_

I rose up into the air, hefting my heavy bat with one hand. Lynne took possession of the Quaffle and raced down the field.

When the game had finished- Lanie making a miracle catch right out from under Brandon Trotter's nose and winning the game for us- we went back to the common room, slapping one another on the back. Instead of going down to lunch, some sixth-years went down to the kitchens and came back with enough food to feed all of Rowena's Borough. We had a mini-party in the common room, and we pooled our dwindling supply of sweets to make a Community Chocolate Collection that we put on the biggest crystal table.

"I don't know what I'd do without chocolate," Lynne laughed.

"We should ration it," agreed Shawnee with a small smile.

Lanie opened her mouth to say something- and then sneezed.

We all froze, staring at the small, skinny brunette. Her turquoise eyes darted from Shawnee to Lynne to me before she said, "I- I think I'm fine."

"Maybe it's just a cold," said Shawnee hurriedly, rushing her words like she couldn't get them out fast enough.

"I'm sure it's just a cold," Lynne assured Lanie, nodding her agreement.

"Like Ella," I added.

Lanie nodded and we dropped the conversation.

That night, after drawing the bedcurtains around my area, I whispered, "_Lumos_." I grabbed one of the books stacked on my bedside table- one of the ones my parents had sent me. It was _The Decline of Pagan Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot, and I started to read. I was on Chapter Three, which covered the fascinating subject of alchemy and its links to pagan magic, when I heard footsteps.

"_Nox_," I hissed, plunging my space into darkness. Pulling aside the bedcurtains just enough to see through them, I recognized the slim shape of Lanie following someone out of the dorm. I threw aside the covers and hurried after tham.

I tiptoed into the nearly-empty common room and froze, hidden behind the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Lanie's hair and Shawnee's head of dark curls were visible over the backs of chairs near the fire pit. I crept up behind them and huddled next to the back of Shawnee's armchair, listening.

"I don't want to have the plague," Lanie was saying with a gulp. "There's no _cure, _Shawnee. If this cold isn't just a cold, I'll probably _die_."

"I know."

"I want to be an inventor. I don't want to die before I even take my O.W.L.s."

"I know."

"Hey," Lanie said suddenly, after a pause, "if I _do_ die, you've got to make it out of here, okay? For me and- and for _everyone _who's going to end up dead."

Shawnee breathed a deep sigh. "I will. And so will _you_."

"Don't try to make me feel better, Shawnee," said Lanie heavily, in a weary voice. "But promise me something."

"What?"

"If I _do_ die- if I Go Comatose and my heart stops beating and they can't revive me- I want you and Aly to find a bloody cure." (I nearly gasped aloud at this. I'd never heard Lanie swear before.) "Invent it if you have to. If there are two minds in the world who can figure it out, it's you and Aly."

My shoulders drooped. Everyone expected me to be the heroine, just because I was one of the brightest witches in the year- okay, maybe of all of Hogwarts- and because I'd defeated Headmaster Damien, masterminding the plan that had beaten him in the end of the year before. Couldn't I just be _normal _for one year? Couldn't I just be _Aly_, or even _Alyssa_, not Aly-the-savior? Why was it always _me?_

Before I could hear any more, I scurried back to the door in the alcove and opened it. As I went back up the stairs, I heard Lanie's faint voice ask, "Did you hear something?"

But I was in bed when they came in, completely silent.

Out the window next to my bed, before I pulled the dark blue curtains shut, I spotted a streak of silver flash across the sky. _A shooting star! _(Or, as Professor Turner would've said, a meteor. But I was superstitious, and I needed a wish.)

When I pulled my curtains shut, I crossed my hands over my stomach and closed my eyes. Then I made a wish on that shooting tar.

_Please don't let Lanie die._

**Awh. So, before I'm done, I have some reviews to respond to as well as thank-yous to give out.**

**Yes, I know that Lyndsay's accent can be slightly odd, since it's Scottish and they all live in Scotland or the surrounding area. The reason Lyndsay's accent is written so weirdly is because it's a VERY thick accent. Americans wouldn't be able to understand her at all, and even her fellow Hogwarts students agree that it's a little pronounced.**

**A quick thank-you to everyone who's reviewed so far, even if it was a critical review. A big shout-out to "Lanie", who has been promoting my story in every way she possibly can. Thanks to QueenOfDesu and RavenRoset for pointing out some things that need to be changed, and a huge shout-out to the girl whom Lyndsay is based off of for all of her ideas and editorial skills. **

**Also, a mammoth-sized THANK YOU to everyone who's voted on my poll. Who to include, who to not include as much- this has been a huge trouble for me. So thanks again!**

**All right, I'm done now. Review, please!**


End file.
